The Miraculous Adventures of Luffy and Zoro
by pingo1387
Summary: While resting in Loguetown, Luffy and Zoro are made an offer which will change their lives—at least, for the next six months. ZoLu.
1. Here We Are

**Hey, welcome! This is basically Luffy and Zoro as Ladybug and Chat respectively, but everything takes place alongside the canon events of One Piece. Here we go!**

 **The title _might_ be changed eventually, unless you guys like it as is. **

* * *

_Loguetown_

"Guess I'm lost!" Luffy said to himself with a laugh. He sat on the edge of the alleyway. "I wonder where the others went? Oh, well, they can take care of themselves."

He settled back against the building and closed his eyes, hoping to catch a nap before someone found him.

"Hey!"

He opened his eyes and glanced around. No one in sight. He shrugged and shut his eyes again.

"Oh, wake up! I'm talking to you!"

He opened his eyes again, irritated. "Who's there?"

Something small, black, and red floated in front of his face. Its entire height was no longer than a pinky finger, and its eyes took up a third of its head.

"Hi there, Luffy!"

Luffy sat up. "A bug that talks?!"

"How rude!" the thing exclaimed. "I'm _not_ a bug! I'm a fairy!"

"Oh, cool!" Luffy exclaimed in delight. "Mystery bug!"

"I'm not—forget it. My name is Tikki," the fairy said with a small bow. "I have an important mission for you."

* * *

Zoro sat himself on some deserted stairs, vaguely wondering where Luffy had gone. He sighed and shut his eyes for a nap.

"Wake up!"

Zoro opened his eyes and spotted something black no longer than his finger hovering in front of his face. Without a word, he swatted it away and lazily shut his eyes again.

"What kind of manners do you have?" the thing exclaimed, and Zoro opened his eyes again in annoyance.

"Pretty poor ones," Zoro muttered. "Go away."

A moment of silence, and then he sat up with wide eyes.

"Wait, what the hell _are_ you?"

"About time," the thing muttered. It resembled a bobblehead cat. "I'm a fairy, if you didn't know. I'm called Plagg."

"Oh, alright," Zoro muttered. "Leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep."

"Not _yet,_ I need to talk to you first!"

"Yeah, well, make it quick."

Plagg hovered around Zoro's head like a housefly. "I've got a mission for you."

* * *

"So . . . some evil guy's got a mystery bug like you, but he's gonna use the mystery bug to do bad things, and you want me to turn into a hero to stop him," Luffy said.

Tikki nodded.

"Yeah, not interested," Luffy said, leaning back. "I'm a pirate, not a hero."

"But you're the chosen one!"

Luffy frowned. "I don't really care, though. Playing hero's not my thing."

Tikki sighed, exasperated. "Listen, I've gotten word the first of Tigermoth's victims will appear in this city any second! _Someone_ has to stop them, and my partner can't do it on their own!"

"Your partner?"

"Besides, the Miraculous will be safe with you, since that's what Tigermoth is after," Tikki added. Luffy felt something in his hand and opened his palm to see a red silk ribbon folded neatly within.

"Why would Mothy be after this?"

"Please let me finish explaining . . . ?"

Luffy folded his arms just as an explosion happened.

"Whoa, what the hell was that?" he exclaimed, looking around.

" _That_ was probably Tigermoth's first victim!" Tikki exclaimed. "Listen for a second and I'll tell you how to stop them, or this whole town might be destroyed!"

"Fine, but make it quick!" Luffy exclaimed, standing and casting a look around.

* * *

"The one causing all this damage is an innocent civilian," Plagg explained as Zoro kept an eye on the smoke rising from the center of the city, clenching the green ribbon. "They've been possessed by something called an Akuma. My partner should be around here somewhere, helping someone like you. If you two transform and work together, you can stop this person, save them from possession, _and_ save this town!"

"That's nice and all, but I'm no hero," Zoro said. "Ain't saying I wouldn't help stop this person, but going around saving people isn't what I do."

"Well, that's too bad, because you're the chosen one here."

"I don't give a flying—"

"I'll make you a deal," Plagg continued. "My partner and I need you to do this, but you don't want to. So . . ."

* * *

"Six months?" Luffy repeated.

Tikki nodded. "Also, _no one_ said you'd have to give up being a pirate to do this," she added. "It can just be something you do on the side. After six months, I'll make sure to find someone else who fits the bill. Do we have a deal?"

Luffy raised his eyebrows. "Wait, I wouldn't have to give up being a pirate? Why didn't you say so?"

"If you would've let me explain—look, do we have a deal or not?"

"How about I transform and give this hero thing a try," Luffy said. " _Then_ we can talk about a deal. Okay?"

"Okay!" Tikki exclaimed, relieved at finally getting through to him. "Now, it's important to not reveal your identity when you're transformed . . ."

"Because that's what heroes do, right," Luffy said. "I'm still not a hero, but as long as I'm pretending to be one . . . ?"

Tikki hesitated on giving him the real reason as to keeping his name a secret, but decided against it. "Pretty much," she said. "You can think of something else to call yourself when you're transformed. When you're ready, just say, 'Tikki, transform me' and it'll work."

Luffy tied the ribbon around his neck like a choker. "Got it!"

"Now, your weapons—"

"Don't need 'em, I've got fists," Luffy said abruptly. "Tikki, transfo—"

"You _do_ need them, it's the only way to stop the enemy!" Tikki exclaimed.

Luffy scowled. "Geez, do you want me to go stop this guy or not?! Are you just gonna be talking this whole time?!"

"I'll make this brief!" Tikki flew around his head. "You've got a magical medallion with an unbreakable string—"

"A yo-yo."

"—And when you're in trouble, use something called the Lucky Charm. After that, you've got a few minutes until the transformation wears off, and _make sure_ to catch the moth after you find it!"

"Okay, got it," Luffy said impatiently. "Tikki, transform me!"

"I wasn't done—!"

Tikki was sucked into the ribbon and Luffy's limbs snapped out as if strung out on a cross. A shimmering light flew around his torso and limbs like a halo and he was suddenly covered in a skin-tight red suit spotted with black, complete with a face mask. The ribbon, too, had sprouted five black spots on the front.

"Cool!" he exclaimed in delight. "I look like you!"

He glanced around. "Tikki? Huh, oh well. Hey, where'd my hat go?"

Another explosion distracted him from his quick search.

"Must be a hero thing," he mumbled to himself. "My normal clothes disappeared, too, so . . . anyway, guess I gotta stop whoever that is!"

* * *

"If I can do this alongside being a pirate . . ."

Zoro tied the ribbon around his arm, just under his bandana. "Alright, you little shit, we have a deal. Just for six months, though. Anything I should know before I go all goody-goody hero? Make it quick."

Plagg nodded. "To transform, say 'Plagg, transform me.' Your normal outfit will disappear once you transform, but it'll come back when you detransform. You have an attack called a Cataclysm where you can destroy something you slash at or grab. But after you use it, you'll detransform in a few minutes, so don't go for it right away. The Akuma possessing the person will be in an object they have with them, and if you break it, the moth will fly out and your partner can catch it and purify it."

He said this all in one breath.

"I think I got it," Zoro said. "Uh . . . Plagg, transform me . . . ?"

He watched as Plagg was sucked into the ribbon, which became imprinted with a green cat's paw. His limbs snapped out to either side of him and, with a shimmering around his body, he was encased in a skintight black suit, a long catlike tail on his backside, a facemask, and dark cat ears upon his head.

"What the hell is this?" he muttered, examining himself. "This tail looks really inconvenient . . ."

He felt his new cat ears, frowning.

"Well, guess I'd better find that partner the little shit mentioned," he muttered, and he sprang off down the street, attracting stares with his odd costume and catlike movements.

* * *

Luffy ran down the street, looking this way and that for the source of the commotion. To his annoyance, he'd discovered his transformation had nullified his Devil Fruit power; he was no weaker, he was simply unable to stretch.

"At least I have a cool yo-yo," he mumbled, taking out the medallion and clutching it.

"Uh, 'scuse me—!"

He turned and grinned when he spotted Sanji and Usopp approaching.

"Hey!" he said cheerfully.

"Nice outfit," Usopp said in admiration. "But, uh—there's some weird stuff happening in town, you should probably be going the other way—"

"Can't," Luffy said abruptly. "I promised I'd go stop whoever's causing it."

Usopp gasped. "Are you a _hero?"_ he exclaimed in awe, a grin breaking out on his face. "That's _so cool!_ You must be a hero, right?! This is what heroes dress like!"

Luffy frowned. "I'm not a hero. This is temporary."

He realized with mingled amusement and disappointment that neither Usopp nor Sanji seemed to recognize him.

"I'd go stop the bastard myself, but I need to find Nami- _san_ first," Sanji muttered. "Mr. Hero—actually, what do you want to be called, if not that?"

His eyes held interest, despite his mask of indifference. Luffy frowned. "Hadn't actually thought about that. I guess . . . Ladybug-Man? No, that's too long. Just Ladybug. Call me Ladybug, I guess."

"Ladybug," Usopp whispered in reverence. "A real hero, standing before me—!"

"Ah, forget all that," Luffy said awkwardly. "Have either of you seen someone dressed like me around here? I dunno exactly what they look like, but it's probably something like this."

They shook their heads. Another explosion happened and Luffy glanced tensely to the side.

"Sanji- _kun_? Usopp?"

"Nami- _san_!" Sanji exclaimed, turning in delight. She carried a few shopping bags with her.

"Nami, look, a real hero!" Usopp exclaimed happily, pointing to Luffy. "He's called Ladybug!"

Nami gave Luffy a look and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's . . . great. Has anyone seen Luffy or Zoro?"

Luffy looked away, whistling, while Sanji and Usopp shrugged.

"LOOK OUT—"

Everyone had to leap aside to avoid someone crashing to the ground from the sky.

"Ow, ow, _ow,"_ Zoro muttered, getting up and rubbing his head. "Not used to this yet . . ."

"Another hero?!" Usopp exclaimed, ready to pass out from delight. As it was, he nearly blinded Nami with the happy glow he emitted.

"I'm not a hero," Zoro snapped, glancing over. He looked at Usopp, then Sanji, then Nami.

" _Un chat noir_ has joined the party, huh?" Sanji murmured, eyeing Zoro.

"Oh, _you_ must be the one I'm looking for!" Luffy said in surprise.

Zoro turned to face him and they took in each other's appearances.

"You're a _cat!"_ Luffy exclaimed, his voice filled with pure joy.

Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose. "Something like that."

"Hey, what're you called?" Usopp demanded eagerly.

Zoro hesitated. "Chat Noir," he said at last, grabbing onto what Sanji had mentioned. "That means Black Cat, right? Right, yeah. You can call me that, I guess."

"Hey, let's talk on the way," Luffy said, grabbing Zoro in a chokehold and dragging him away. "We'll see you guys later! We've got a bad guy to stop!"

The three watched them go.

"Well, if _that_ wasn't the weirdest thing ever," Nami muttered.

"Real heroes," Usopp whispered, hands clapped to his cheeks.

"Those two said they'd take care of it," Sanji said at last. "Nami- _san_ , Usopp, let's lay low until the deed's done."

* * *

"Wow . . ."

Luffy and Zoro had gotten distracted by a mirror on their way to the disaster. Zoro scowled, annoyed that his eyes had turned truly catlike under his mask. He adjusted the tail of the costume self-consciously.

"We may not be heroes, Chat, but I think we look pretty good!" Luffy said happily, twisting and turning to check himself out from every angle. "Also, I'm just gonna call you 'Chat' for short."

Zoro frowned at him. "The 'ch' is soft."

Luffy stared at him in surprise. "What, 'Shat?' Doesn't that mean poop?"

"Never mind! What're you called, by the way?"

"Lu—Ladybug."

"Nice to meet you and all that. Just so you know, that little shit fairy and I have a deal. I'm only doing this for six months."

Luffy grinned. "Hey, what a coincidence! Me, too!"

"Good to know. We've wasted enough time, so let's go stop that bad guy, or whatever."

"Right. C'mon, Chat!"

Luffy ran with him out to the street, threw out his medallion to send it wrapping around a streetlamp, and seized the end of it, hooking an arm around Zoro.

"Wait, what're you—?"

"Hold on tight!"

They went flying across the street.

* * *

"We're here," Luffy announced, landing lightly and bringing his medallion back, catching it in his palm with a snap. He glanced at Zoro, who had landed none too gently on his face. "You okay, Chat?"

Zoro pushed himself up, springing to position like a cat. "You remind me of someone I know," he muttered, "and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

Luffy grinned and reached out a hand towards Zoro's cat ears, but Zoro slapped it away and pointed to something in front of them. "Try paying attention to _that_ instead, will you?"

Luffy turned and eyed their foe. It held the appearance of a large stone golem, and let out a guttural growl when it spotted them.

" _Give me . . . the Miraculouses,"_ came the low demand.

"Guess it means the ribbons," Luffy remarked, fingering his choker and glancing at Zoro's armband. "Hey, yours has a kitty paw!"

"The little shit said something about the Akuma possessing an object," Zoro said, sharp eyes roaming the stone beast. "Apparently, you can—"

They sprang apart, rolling away on the street from the giant fist which tried to seize them.

"Okay, then, we just gotta find a mystery thing this guy has, right?!" Luffy called, dodging another swing.

Zoro gave him a nod. "I was told you can purify it," he called, doing a flip worthy of a gymnast to dodge a blow. "If you've got anything else, that'd be good!"

"Yeah, no problem! What about you?!" Luffy threw his medallion up and wrapped it around the golem's head, flying upwards and landing on its shoulder.

"I was told I've got a destructive move." Zoro flexed his hand.

Luffy grinned. "I like this guy," he murmured.

The golem tried grabbing Luffy, but he scampered to its back like a monkey. Zoro followed, darting around while their enemy was distracted.

"Do you think this is it?" Luffy exclaimed. "It sure _seems_ like a mystery thing!"

He gestured to a glowing purple item on the back of the golem's neck—some kind of cravat or ascot, only worn backwards.

"I guess," Zoro said with a shrug. "Grab it and destroy it! Then we can be done with this shit."

Luffy grinned and made to seize the tie, but he was caught both by surprise and by the stone golem's fist.

"Whoops," he said cheerfully. Zoro groaned.

The creature now wrenched a streetlight up from the ground and swung it at Zoro. Zoro reached instinctively for his swords, but finding them still missing, he thought fast and swung a hand down with an awkward yell of, "Cataclysm!"

The streetlight stopped instantly under his claws and crumbled to rust. Zoro stared at his hands in shock.

"Huh."

Luffy, meanwhile, managed to wiggle one arm free. He threw his medallion in the air and cried, "Lucky Charm!"

Something formed in the air above him. While he caught it and fumbled, Zoro muttered, "How'd you know to do that?"

"That's how heroes do it, right?" Luffy said absently. "Hey, do you know how the heck I'm supposed to use this?"

He held up a large flashlight patterned just like his suit.

"Why are you asking _me?_ You're the one who got it!" Zoro exclaimed.

"I guess I don't get to pick what it is!" Luffy exclaimed. He felt his choker. "Also, I think I'm gonna transform back in a couple minutes, so we should probably hurry?"

"Same here," Zoro said, glancing at his own ribbon and noting two of the five toes had already vanished. The third one started to blink.

He looked back up at the flashlight, and then to the squinty-eyed golem.

"Hey, Ladybug, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Luffy grinned. "Go around the back! I got this!"

Zoro gave him a nod and sprang into action, dashing around the golem. It tried to turn around, but Luffy flicked on the light, shining it into the creature's eyes. It dropped him as it covered its face in pain, and Luffy fell to the ground.

Zoro came back with the dark scarf wrapped around his hand. "Let's get this over with."

Luffy grabbed it from him and tore the thing in two, throwing it to the ground while the golem fell to its knees. To their surprise, a small, dark moth fluttered out.

"Oh, you need to get that," Zoro remembered.

Luffy examined his medallion and pressed the center. It popped open and he held it near the moth curiously. It was sucked in, and the medallion closed itself.

"Huh," he murmured. The medallion opened up again and the moth flew out, but it was now light in color, no longer an ugly purple.

Luffy grinned. "Aw, it's cute! Bye-bye, little butterfly!"

"It's a moth," Zoro muttered.

"What . . . happened . . . ?"

They glanced to the side. A man now knelt where the stone golem had once been, looking confused and scared.

"Oh, yeah, Tikki said this Tigermoth guy turns innocent people into bad guys," Luffy remarked. "Poor guy."

He picked up the flashlight and tossed it high in the air. To his and Zoro's surprise, a large shimmer flew throughout the air, and in an instant all the damage caused during the battle was undone. The roads were fixed, the streetlights were straightened, and the buildings were rebuilt. Even the scarf, now light blue, reformed itself.

"How'd you know to do that?" Zoro exclaimed.

"I didn't!"

Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well . . . that wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Good job, at any rate."

Luffy grinned. "Good job, partner!"

Zoro looked at him in surprise and found him holding up a hand. He resignedly gave Luffy a high-five.

* * *

"No, I'm not a hero, but you can call me Ladybug, I guess—"

"I'm not a hero either—my name? Ror—I mean, Chat Noir—"

Luffy and Zoro found themselves swamped by a large crowd of grateful citizens and newspaper reporters, including Usopp (Sanji and Nami hung at the back, Nami wearing an irritated look).

"No, seriously, get out of the way!" Luffy exclaimed. "I gotta go! Don't bother thanking me or anything! Bye!"

He tossed out his medallion and swung away.

"Yeah, I . . ." Zoro glanced around. "What he said. Bye!"

He sprang away in a different direction, leaping off the sides of buildings like a cat.

* * *

Luffy detransformed safely, hidden in an alley. He examined himself, relieved to find his clothes and hat back to normal. The ribbon had lost its black spots.

"You did it," Tikki said, flying out and weakly landing in Luffy's hands.

"You okay?" Luffy said with a frown.

Tikki smiled. "I always need food after a transformation . . ."

"Oh, no problem, I'll grab some crackers for you when I'm back on the ship."

"So?" Tikki said, resting in Luffy's hands while Luffy sat against a building. "What did you think?"

Luffy made a face as if thinking quite hard. "It wasn't that bad," he said at last. "Me n' my crew are sure to get around the Grand Line in a year, so six months of this won't be _too_ bad. This won't happen every day, will it?"

Tikki shook her head.

"Then I can handle it. Just so we're clear, I'm _not_ a hero," he added firmly. "And as soon as this is all over, I'm telling my friends all about it."

"Since you won't be Ladybug anymore at that point . . . that is up to you," Tikki admitted.

Luffy grinned. "Great! Then it's a deal!"

* * *

Zoro sighed in great relief upon finding his swords, human ears, and earrings back in place. The ribbon was tied safely underneath his bandana. No one had seen him detransform.

"Oh, I'm so _weak,"_ Plagg moaned dramatically, and Zoro caught him, startled to see him suddenly appear like that. "Feed me . . ."

"Does transforming take it out of you or something?" Zoro muttered. "I'll grab you crackers or something back on the ship, that okay?"

Plagg nodded. "So, tell me. How was it?"

Zoro sighed. "Look, let's get one thing straight: I'm _not_ a hero," he said firmly. "But . . . there's something about that Ladybug guy that . . ." He shook his head. "I don't know. He's pretty intriguing, I'll tell you that. I wouldn't mind seeing him again . . ."

"Ooh, _intriguing,_ is that what you're calling it nowadays?" Plagg murmured. "In my day, we called it 'having a cru—'"

"I'm telling my captain about this the moment six months are up," Zoro continued. "And speaking of which, I have to clear something with him, but for now . . . we've got a deal, you little shit."

* * *

 _East Blue Sea_

Luffy and Zoro had managed to bluff their way out of the questions they faced from Nami and Sanji later on, and when asked about his new accessory, Luffy nervously fingered his choker and shrugged, only asking if they thought it looked good.

"Hey, who the hell took all the crackers?!" Sanji yelled, poking his head out of the kitchen. Luffy and Zoro looked away (Tikki and Plagg were hidden in their hat and _haramaki_ respectively) while Usopp and Nami shrugged.

Sanji muttered something under his breath and slammed the door shut as he went back inside.

"I still can't believe it," Usopp exclaimed, waving his arms in excitement. "Two heroes! Two heroes, and I got to see them, and they saved the town!"

"They weren't heroes," Luffy and Zoro said simultaneously.

"Uh—I overheard them earlier," Luffy said quickly. "They were saying they weren't heroes."

"Same here," Zoro mumbled.

"Usopp, stop geeking out about it, you'll probably never see them again," Nami called from her spot on the bow.

"But that's all the more reason to be excited!" Usopp protested. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and _I_ got to experience it! Oh, my gosh, I should draw them in action—!"

Nami had returned to the paper, resolutely ignoring him, while Luffy and Zoro hurried away.

"Hey," Zoro said, placing a hand on Luffy's shoulder. "I need to ask you something."

"Ask away!"

Zoro swallowed nervously. "If the situation was . . . _very_ unusual, and you weren't around . . . would you care if I worked with someone outside of this crew? Hypothetically."

Luffy folded his arms and grinned, and Zoro looked down as if embarrassed by that sunshine smile. "I trust you, and I trust your judgement. Besides, you might have to call a few shots on your own if I'm really not around."

Zoro took a deep breath and looked up. "Aye, Captain," he said with a smile.

Luffy patted his shoulder and strolled off to the kitchen. Zoro still wasn't quite sure about keeping such a secret from him, but he reasoned he would be able to confess at the end of six months . . . and, well, that was good enough for him.

* * *

 **We'll be updating Wednesdays!**


	2. Unnecessary Tension

**Holy cow, sorry this is late! In all honesty I procrastinated a lot writing this. I'll try not to let it happen again!**

* * *

 _Whiskey Peak_

Luffy threw blow after blow at Zoro, his face filled with anger, while Zoro, ever-frustrated, blocked each one with his blades.

"You two are going to _pay_ for that!" Miss Valentine yelled, enraged at being blown away from their battle. She stormed towards them with her partner. "Let's get them, Mr. 5!"

As one, Luffy and Zoro turned to them and snarled, "Don't interfere with our fight!"

Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 backed off, stunned.

"What's going on?" Vivi exclaimed, hiding around a corner. Nami had hidden herself as well. "I thought those two were friends!"

"They are," Nami hissed, peeking around. "I'll go stop them in a sec, Princess, you need to keep yourself safe!"

Meanwhile, Mr. 9 lay on the ground a ways away, fuming.

"Those . . . _bastards,"_ he muttered to himself, struggling to get to his feet again. "Trying to hurt Miss Wednesday . . . they'll _pay_ for this . . . !"

He seized one of his baseball bats, using it as a crutch to get to his feet. Without his notice, a tiny moth surrounded by a violet glow fluttered towards him.

When it touched the crown upon his head, its color changed instantly from golden to violet, and Mr. 9's head snapped up as he heard a disembodied voice . . .

" _Méchant Batter. I am called Tigermoth. I can give you the power to take revenge on your foes, but in return, I must ask you a favor. Take the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Do we have a deal?"_

"Yeah," Mr. 9 whispered. "It's a deal."

An evil light, mud-like in its apparent texture, dripped over Mr. 9 from his crown. When it vanished, he stood on the side of the street clad in a classic black-and-white striped baseball uniform, complete with knee-high socks and dark paint underneath his eyes. His hair, now white on the top and dark underneath, was parted in the middle, brushed back on either side.

He chuckled to himself, his laughter growing until it echoed off the buildings.

"What was that?" Nami whispered, pausing in heading over to Luffy and Zoro.

Mr. 9 stepped into the middle of the road, his baseball bat slung over his shoulder and a maniacal grin upon his face.

"Mr. 5!" he yelled. "Miss Valentine! Come on out, you cowards, are you going to quit at the bottom of the ninth?! The batter's at the plate, baby, and even though you can't catch a _cold_ , you're sure as hell gonna catch your demise when I come swinging by!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Miss Valentine yelled as she and Mr. 5 looked around the corner of a building, keeping a cautious eye on Luffy and Zoro. "Who are you, anyway?!"

"I am Méchant Batter," Mr. 9 announced, pointing his bat at them, "and I'm going to grand slam you into oblivion! _No one_ tries to hurt Miss Wednesday!"

Vivi held onto Karoo's neck tightly, frowning. Her eyes widened.

"Mr. 9?" she cried. "Is that— _you?_ What happened to you?"

Mr. 9 turned to her with a wide grin. "I'm no longer Mr. 9!" he declared, clenching his free hand. "Call me Méchant Batter! Miss Wednesday, you don't need to worry—I have the power to protect you now!"

Luffy and Zoro paused, both distracted now.

"What the heck?" Luffy muttered, still in a boxing stance.

"Isn't he the weirdo partner to that girl?" Zoro murmured, eyeing Mr. 9 and glancing behind him to where Vivi held an expression of utter confusion.

"Miss Valentine, let us ignore this fool," Mr. 5 scoffed as he and his partner crept around Luffy and Zoro with utmost caution. "Dressing up isn't going to save your princess, you moron! We're stronger than you!"

"Let's see how strong you are against _me!"_ Mr. 9 exclaimed. He held out his hand palm-up and two glowing blue baseballs materialized. "Take my Surrealistic Tragedy! _Batter up, baby!"_

He threw the balls into the air one at a time and struck them with his silver bat, one after the other, sending one hurtling to Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine each with blinding speed. The baseballs struck their chests and they cried out, stumbling backwards.

"This is . . . nothing," Miss Valentine hissed, recovering her balance. She shed some kilos and leapt into the air. "Your power is no match for my Kilo-Kilo fruit! Take my 1,000-Kilo Smash!"

"Easy out, easy out!" Mr. 9 taunted as Miss Valentine increased her weight. "Can you take my Saturated Chain?!"

A deep green baseball materialized and he threw it into the air, striking Miss Valentine with a mighty CRACK of the bat. Her momentum was too great to be sent flying, but the impact nonetheless made her lose her balance, and she crashed to the ground nearby, clutching her stomach.

" _Luffy!"_

Luffy looked around and saw Tikki out of the corner of his eye, hovering close to his face so she wouldn't be seen.

" _He's been possessed by an akuma,"_ Tikki whispered as Mr. 5 ran for Mr. 9. " _Get somewhere so you can transform!"_

"Now?" Luffy whispered. "I was in the middle of something."

" _You can finish your fight later!"_

Luffy rolled his eyes. "I hate this," he groaned. Once he made sure Zoro was distracted, he ran into a nearby alleyway and behind a building.

"Okay, Tikki, transform me," he said impatiently.

Zoro looked around, surprised to see that Luffy had vanished.

"Hey, Plagg," he said, ignoring this for now. Plagg poked his head out of the _haramaki_. "Has that moron been taken by one of those moths?"

"Huh?" Plagg said, glancing at Mr. 9. "Looks like it. Get me some cheese or something after you transform, I'm getting hungry just _thinking_ about it, oh, dear me . . ."

Zoro rolled his eyes and hurried away, hiding himself.

"Plagg, transform me!"

* * *

Mr. 5 had managed to deflect Mr. 9's Furious Homerun with an explosion, but a new attack called Fool's Mate found Mr. 5 void of his Devil Fruit abilities, leaving him open for the next attack—

"Special Homerun!" Mr. 9 yelled, swinging his bat at full force. The yellow baseball struck Mr. 5 in the face, sending him to his knees covering his bleeding nose.

"There's no need to worry, Miss Wednesday!" Mr. 9 exclaimed with a maniacal laugh, turning to Vivi. "They're off the team, no problem, and they can't hurt you—!"

But when he saw Nami shepherding Vivi away, his jaw tightened.

"Don't touch her!"

Nami turned around in confusion and saw him readying another attack.

"You'd better Run with Grace if you want to live!" he yelled.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Nami exclaimed. "I'm not hurting her—!"

Mr. 9 had already materialized his baseball and got ready to throw it—but then something struck his hand and he cried out, dropping the ball to the ground, where it vanished.

"Who let _you_ on the team?" Luffy called, decked out in his superhero garb. He grinned as he brought back his medallion. "That coach oughta be fired, huh? I've seen better hits at a bar fight!"

"What was that?!" Mr. 9 snarled. "Who the hell are you?!"

Nami looked up to the roof where Luffy perched. "Oh, it's that guy," she muttered.

"Who is that?" Vivi whispered, more confused than ever.

"Batter up, there's a new team in town!" Zoro declared, jumping from his own roof to the street like a cat. Luffy did the same.

"Hey, Chat, you're here!" he said happily. "Let's do this quick, okay? I got something I need to get back to!"

"I hear you," Zoro agreed, heading to his side. Standing next to each other, the height difference was clear.

"Hey, you two!" Luffy said, glancing at Nami and Vivi. "If you aren't gonna help, get out of the way, okay?"

"Kick his ass!" Nami ordered, grabbing Vivi around the shoulders and leading her to a safe place.

"Who were those two?" Vivi whispered. "And what happened to Mr. 9?"

"I dunno what happened to your partner," Nami admitted, "but those two call themselves Ladybug and Chat Noir. They say they're not heroes, but this is the second time I've seen them come to the rescue . . ."

"I see," Vivi whispered.

"Come to think of it, I wonder where Luffy and Zoro went," Nami added. "Those _morons_. . ."

Luffy and Zoro faced Mr. 9.

" _Those two are Ladybug and Chat Noir!"_ the disembodied voice whispered to Mr. 9. " _Take their Miraculouses! The ribbons!"_

Mr. 9 grinned. "So _you're_ Ladybug and Chat Noir!" he exclaimed. "Get ready, baby, I'm going to take your Miraculouses!"

"Fat chance!" Luffy exclaimed. He glanced at Zoro, who held a metal rod over his shoulder. "Chat, what's that?"

"That shit fairy decided to tell me about this not long ago," he said, rolling his eyes. "Extendable staff. Would've been nice to know about earlier, huh?"

Luffy grinned. "That is _so cool."_

"Focus. Where do you think this guy's akuma is?"

Luffy's eyes roamed Mr. 9's getup. "Looks like his stupid crown, right?"

"Seems so," Zoro agreed. "Tag-team it?"

"On my count," Luffy said. "Three-two-one-NOW!"

Zoro held out his staff and Luffy swung out his medallion, but with a powerful strike the staff was knocked aside and the string was wrapped around the bat. Luffy's attempt to drag the bat to him ended rather unfortunately when Mr. 9 spun in circles, holding his bat aloft and sending Luffy flying with his medallion into the side of a building.

"You okay there?" Zoro called, dodging an attack with a backflip.

"Fine!" Luffy called, his voice muffled in the dirt. He sat up and spat. "That hurt . . . we gotta get rid of that bat!"

"That's for sure. Any ideas?"

They dodged an attack dubbed Abstract Tragedy.

"I think so, but we'll have to hurry after this," Luffy said. "Got it?"

Zoro gave him a nod and Luffy threw his medallion into the air with a cry of, "Lucky Charm!"

Something fell from the sky into Luffy's hands and he stared at it incredulously.

"Wow, how the heck am I supposed to use this?" he said dumbly. He squinted at the item—a small glass kettle, decorated in red and black, its spout closed off.

"Now's not the time for tea!" Zoro snapped, deflecting one of Mr. 9's baseballs with his staff.

"I know, just gimme a sec!" Luffy exclaimed, glancing up. For a moment he was distracted by how gracefully Zoro moved while blocking hit after hit, and he grinned, but then he shook his head and returned to staring thoughtfully at the kettle.

"Glass," he muttered. "A kettle . . . what do you put in kettles . . . ? And that weirdo's . . ."

He grinned. "Chat, keep him busy, I'll be right back!" he yelled, running into one of the buildings.

"Your partner's abandoned you!" Mr. 9 taunted, grinning. "Can you run the field all by yourself, Monsieur Chat Noir?"

Zoro scoffed with a smirk. "He hasn't abandoned me, you third-rate batter. We're a team, and that's not changing anytime soon."

Mr. 9 scowled. "Third-rate?! Could a third-rate batter do _this_ , baby?! Converted Chain!"

He leapt high into the air, materialized a baseball, and struck it downwards. Zoro dodged just in time and was forced to stay on his toes as hit after hit flew towards him, Mr. 9 cackling all the while. Behind them, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine managed to hide themselves indoors at last.

"I will _win!"_ Mr. 9 declared, spitting on the ground as he landed. "You'll see! I'll get your Miraculouses, and—"

"No, you won't!"

Zoro and Mr. 9 turned as Luffy came running outside at last.

"What the hell were you doing, anyway?" Zoro said.

"You'll see!" Luffy exclaimed, holding the kettle. "Let's hurry, Chat, I'm gonna turn back soon! Get out of the way and get ready!"

Zoro eyed the now-steaming kettle. "Got it," he said, stepping aside.

"Hey, Méchant Batter!" Luffy yelled. "You sure are lousy, huh? You couldn't hit the side of a barn if you were standing next to it!"

"Why do you pronounce _his_ dumb name right?" Zoro said under his breath.

"What was that?!" Mr. 9 snarled.

"You heard me!" Luffy exclaimed with a shit-eating grin. "You must be a great bowler with all the strikes you make! I bet you couldn't even hit _this!"_ He held up the kettle.

"Try me!" Mr. 9 yelled in rage. "I'll bet I've seen better pitchers serve juice at a picnic!"

Luffy swung his arm around as Mr. 9 got into his stance.

" _Hey_ -batta-batta, _hey_ -batta-batta, _swing!"_

He flung the kettle at the bat and Mr. 9 swung—the kettle smashed into a thousand pieces, sending boiling hot water splashing over Mr. 9's hands. He screamed and dropped his bat, clutching his fingers and blowing on them.

"Chat!" Luffy called.

"Right!" Zoro leapt into action, diving for the bat. "Cataclysm!"

He seized the bat and it fell apart into rusty pieces.

"No!" Mr. 9 exclaimed, but it was too late—Luffy used the opportunity to snatch up the crown with his string and brought it back, throwing it to the ground and stomping it. The little moth flew out and he opened up his medallion, sucking it in.

"Gotcha!" he said happily. "Looks like you struck out after all!"

He popped it open again and the moth fluttered out, pure once more. Glancing down, he saw that the kettle had reformed itself, and he now snatched it up and threw it up high.

In an instant, the damage done during the battle, including Mr. 5's and Miss Valentine's injuries, was fixed. The crown reverted to its normal shape and color, and Mr. 9's getup melted away, leaving him kneeling in the street in his previous outfit.

"What happened?" he murmured, looking around. "Miss . . . Wednesday . . . ?"

Zoro tucked away his staff and headed over, high-fiving Luffy. Luffy picked up the crown and tossed it to Mr. 9, who put it back on and struggled to his feet.

"Don't do stupid shit like that again, you moron," Zoro said sternly. "We don't have that much time to waste!"

"Stupid—? What?" Mr. 9 said blankly, his legs trembling. "Who are you two? What happened? Is Miss Wednesday safe?"

"Mr. 9? You're back?"

He glanced behind him and saw Nami and Vivi peeking around the corner.

"She's fine with Nami," Zoro said. "Stay out of the way."

"She's safe," Mr. 9 said. He smiled weakly. "Good . . . I'm glad . . ."

And he passed out in the middle of the street.

"Oh, shoot, I'm about to turn back," Luffy said, fingering his ribbon. "Chat, I'll see you another time, okay?"

He turned around, but then paused and looked back.

"By the way, you looked really cool there!"

Zoro stared after him, struck dumb by the compliment, but Luffy just gave him a sunshine grin and ran off.

"Huh," he muttered.

"As long as you're still around, can you help look for my stupid friends?" Nami called to him. "They're called Luffy and Zoro, you can't miss them—"

"Nope, gotta go," Zoro said quickly, and he ran away.

"Damn it," Nami muttered. "Well, they'll show up sooner or later, they probably got lost, I wouldn't put it past them . . ."

"What was all that about?" Vivi murmured.

"Dunno exactly," Nami admitted. "But . . . judging by what we saw, it looks like your partner was influenced somehow by that thing in his crown."

"Infl—so that wasn't really him?"

Nami shrugged. "Guess not."

"Oh, thank goodness," Vivi whispered. "I'm glad he's back to normal . . ."

Nami smiled. "I'm sure he's fine, Princess. Now, as soon as Luffy and Zoro show up, we can talk about a deal."

Vivi shrugged. "If you say so . . ."

* * *

"I'll grab you something soon," Luffy promised Tikki as he ran back to the street. "Now, what was I doing—? Oh, yeah! ZORO, GET OUT HERE!"

Zoro came running out from the opposite side, having detransformed just like Luffy. "Let's finish this!"

They charged towards each other, fist pulled back, swords drawn, eyes full of fighting spirit—

"CUT THAT OUT!"

And they were knocked to the ground by Nami's powerful punches.

* * *

"Well, Zoro, why didn't you just _say_ they were all bad guys?" Luffy exclaimed, laughing uproariously. "That was a funny misunderstanding!"

"I told you like ten times!" Zoro yelled. Luffy continued laughing.

"Shut up!" Nami yelled, and he went quiet. "Honestly, where did you two even go during all that?!"

"All that?" Zoro repeated.

"That Mr. 9 person turned into a supervillain or something, and those idiots Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up again," Nami explained, waving a hand impatiently. "And _you two_ were nowhere to be seen! We could've settled this a lot earlier if you'd been there—!"

"I had stuff to do," Luffy protested.

"What kind of stuff?!"

"Just stuff!"

* * *

 _Grand Line Sea_

"What?!"

"Keep your voice down," Nami muttered as she checked their course for Little Garden, Vivi now onboard.

"But—you're serious?!" Usopp exclaimed. "Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up again and I _missed it?!"_

"You were sleeping, it's your own fault," Nami pointed out.

"They really showed up?" Sanji said curiously, approaching.

"Yeah, it was really weird. Usopp, before you ask, I'm _not_ giving you a play-by-play of what happened."

Usopp sighed and went to the deck, where Luffy and Zoro appeared to be stuffing cheese and crackers into their hat and _haramaki_ respectively. Each stood against the mast, facing away from each other.

"Guys?" he said. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing," they said simultaneously, turning to him. They glanced at each other curiously.

"Something wrong?" Zoro added.

Usopp sighed. "Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared and fought a bad guy and I slept through it," he moaned dramatically.

Zoro glanced away. "Do you . . . want to hear what happened?"

"What?"

"I stayed out of the way, but . . . I saw the whole thing," Zoro mumbled.

"Oh, you saw it, too!" Luffy exclaimed, joining in the lie.

Usopp looked at them with hopeful eyes.

"Okay," Zoro said, sitting. "So, Luffy and I were . . . having a disagreement, and suddenly that weirdo with the baseball bat comes out of nowhere . . ."

"He was calling himself Méchant Batter," Luffy added as he and Usopp sat down. "And he said he wanted to protect his partner! And then he . . ."

They continued their story, Usopp hanging on every word and Sanji eavesdropping from the upper deck.


	3. Spear of Justice

**I'm really bad at doing things on time.**

* * *

 _Little Garden_

"Karoo," Usopp gasped, holding his own remarkably well under Miss Valentine's weight, "take this—run around the candle!"

Karoo seized the oil-soaked rope and frantically flapped his wings, running almost comically around the large wax cake where Zoro, Nami, and Vivi stood frozen.

"You think that's going to change anything?" Miss Valentine exclaimed with a giggle. "Your rubber friend's still busy with Mr. 3, and that silly giant is still our prisoner!" She glanced to Broggy, who was indeed held fast by wax shackles. "Hey, Mr. Giant, your friend sure was weak, wasn't he?"

"What was that?" Broggy growled.

"Oh, you know, the _dead_ one?" Miss Valentine continued, daintily covering a giggle even as she continued to increase her weight on Usopp, who began wheezing. She glanced at Dorry, lying prone. "For a giant to be taken out by one of Mr. 5's explosives . . . goodness, what a weakling! All size and no strength!"

"Don't," Usopp gasped from underneath her. "Don't—talk about—his _friend_ —like that—" His face contorted in pain. "You bi—"

The weight upon him increased tenfold and he was forced to go silent to concentrate on breathing properly.

"He wasn't _weak_ ," Broggy growled, something primal rising in his voice as he glared at Miss Valentine. She only laughed, knowing she was safe so long as he was bound by the wax. "How _dare_ you, evil woman!"

"Everything okay?" Luffy called, fighting off Mr. 3 in the ridiculous wax armor while Miss Goldenweek watched curiously from her blanket.

"Oh, everything's fine, Strawhat," Mr. 5 drawled. He kicked Usopp's face, causing a small explosion; Usopp nearly passed out.

Karoo was just finishing his desperate run around the cake when the fight between Luffy and Mr. 3 sent the latter stumbling against Broggy's axe. It fell from its stuck position, the handle tipping onto the back of Broggy's right hand. He twisted his fingers just enough to grip the handle in a steel grasp.

And while this happened, unnoticed by anyone, a tiny dark moth fluttered through the sky and landed upon the axe.

The moth vanished and the axe glowed deep violet. Broggy's expression froze and he stared darkly ahead as someone spoke to him . . .

" _Odin the Warrior,"_ the disembodied voice whispered. " _My name is Tigermoth. I will give you the power to deliver justice upon those who have fought unfairly in your righteous eyes, but in return, you must take the Miraculous ribbons from the ones called Ladybug and Chat Noir."_

A grin crept across Broggy's broad face.

"Justice shall be served."

"What are you muttering about over there?" Miss Valentine called with a giggle. "You're—"

She cut herself off, eyes widening as an ugly purple mass spread over Broggy's huge body from his axe. When the glow faded, his appearance had changed drastically. His helmet now covered his nose in fine iron, the horns gone; his clothes had become fine robes and chainmail of old; his hair and beard had grown long and wild; and the axe he clutched had transformed into a sharp spear, colored an iridescent violet.

"What kind of power is _that?"_ Miss Valentine demanded, decreasing her weight and standing at last. Usopp gasped, recovering from the brink of unconsciousness. "What were you hiding, giant?!"

"Miss Valentine, what just happened?" Mr. 5 exclaimed, eyeing Broggy.

"Luffy!" Usopp yelled, oblivious to what was going on. "The rope—set it on fire! There's no time left!"

"Luffy!" Tikki exclaimed into his ear.

"Wh—Tikki, what is it?" Luffy demanded. "I'm kind of in a hurry!"

He dodged another swing from Mr. 3, casting about for some kind of fire.

"That giant, Broggy, he's—"

Broggy, filled with newfound power, yanked his hands away from the ground, uprooting the wax and causing it to crumble to pieces. By flexing his legs, he unbound himself fully and stood tall.

" _Humans!"_ Broggy roared, pointing rather dramatically to Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine. "I am the ancient King of Asgard, Odin! Forseti has spoken and you are deemed guilty of dishonorable conduct in battle! You are hereby sentenced to death; so sayeth Odin!"

"That round giant guy!" Luffy said in surprise as Mr. 3 paused, eyeing Broggy in confusion. "Tikki, are you saying he's—?"

"He's been akumatized," Tikki said with a nod. "Hurry and transform!"

"No way!" Luffy exclaimed. "I have to save my friends first!"

"But—!"

"I'm not arguing! There's no time! I'm saving my friends and _then_ I'll transform!"

"Master Broggy, what happened to you?!" Usopp cried, struggling to sit up. He glanced to Luffy. "Luffy, are you talking to yourself?"

"Don't worry about it!" Luffy exclaimed. His eyes lit up when they fell upon Mr. 3's candle-like head.

"That'll work for a flame!"

He seized Mr. 3 and used his head to light the end of the rope amid loud protests. The rope was set aflame, fire racing across it and all around the candle cake.

As the wax began to burn, Usopp frantically crawled out of the way, keeping an eye on Broggy.

"Mr. 5," Miss Valentine said as they backed away, "didn't something _strange_ happen to Mr. 9 back at Whiskey Peak?"

"Yes, Miss Valentine—did something similar happen to this brute?" Mr. 5 whispered. They cried out loud when the spear was aimed for them and dodged a thrust just in time, unknowingly also dodging blows from the freed Nami, Vivi, and Zoro.

"Hold _still_ ," Nami snapped. "Guys, you _could_ be a little faster next time—what the hell is going on?"

"Guys!" Luffy exclaimed. "You're okay?"

"We're fine," Vivi said. She looked up. "But—Broggy- _san_ is—?"

"Humans!" Broggy roared as Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek fled into the forest. "Leave this place or face the wrath of Odin with these two!" He gestured to Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.

"He's acting weird," Zoro remarked.

Vivi frowned. "This feels familiar . . . it's like what happened to Mr. 9 at Whiskey Peak!"

"Luffy?" Usopp called, standing at last as Luffy charged into the woods. "Where're you going?"

"He must be going after that Mr. 3 asshole," Zoro remarked. He heard a whisper in his ear and nodded. "I'll go with him."

He ran off with a slight stumble, ignoring Nami's exasperated yell that he was going the wrong way.

"So, you have chosen to stay," Broggy rumbled, raising his spear once more. "So be it!"

"Master Broggy, what happened to you?" Usopp cried, legs shaking before the wrathful aura.

"I am no longer Broggy," came the declaration. "I am Odin, warrior of Asgard! These two have broken the code of battle and deserve death!"

"Okay, they're not great people, you're right," Usopp exclaimed, and Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 appeared very offended even as they took another step back from Broggy. "But that—that's no reason to kill them!"

"You would go against the word of a _god?"_ Broggy roared, causing Usopp to squeak in fear.

"You're no god!"

The company turned to see Luffy in his Ladybug suit, cracking his knuckles with a grin.

"And even if you _were_ a god, you're a pretty bad one!" he continued, striding forward. "Hey, guys!"

"Ladybug!" Usopp exclaimed in delight.

"Why am I always the second one here?" Zoro demanded, leaping like a cat down from the trees and brushing some wax dust off of his suit.

"Maybe you're bad with directions?" Luffy suggested. "Hi, Chat!"

"Chat Noir!" Usopp said happily. "Oh, I get to see you guys again, the dream has come true!"

"You two saved us back at Whiskey Peak," Miss Valentine exclaimed, eyeing them as relief dawned on her features. "You're . . . superheroes?"

"So you two are Ladybug and Chat Noir," Broggy said coldly, holding his spear like a staff.

"More or less," Zoro called. "Hold that thought."

He and Luffy turned around and clocked Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, knocking them far across the clearing and leaving them unconscious in the trees.

" _Now_ we'll take you down," Luffy declared, turning back around.

"Huh?!" Vivi cried. "They weren't good people, true, but what kind of heroes—?!"

"We're not heroes," they said together.

"Actually, you guys should probably get out of the way unless you wanna help," Luffy said. "This fight's gonna be interesting with such a big guy!"

"I'm sure you two can handle this," Nami said, giving them a thumbs-up. "Vivi, c'mon—"

They ran into the trees, peeking out from around the trunks.

"Think it's in his spear?" Luffy muttered to Zoro, pointing at the weapon.

"Dunno where else it could be," Zoro muttered back. He glanced behind them. "Usopp? You should leave."

"He said my name," Usopp whispered happily, but then shook his head. "You guys, uh—I know I must look pretty pathetic right now—but if I can, it would be an honor to—please let me help you!"

"Chat, keep this guy busy for a sec, okay?" Luffy said, shepherding Usopp several feet away as the fire from the candle cake died down. Zoro didn't have time to protest as Broggy began thrusting his spear for him, and was forced to dodge and block blows with his own staff.

"Usopp, are you sure?" Luffy said seriously. "You were hurt pretty badly before this."

Usopp looked at him in wonder. "How did you kn—? Okay, you're right, but that's not important! Master Broggy, this—this isn't like him—is he being controlled or something? He is, isn't he?"

Luffy made a face. "I think so? It's a little complicated, but sure, that's basically it."

"Then I want to help," Usopp declared. "He's my friend, and he's so tough and brave, like Luffy, this other guy I know—I hope _he's_ okay, geez, he hasn't come back yet—point is, if he's in trouble, I want to help! If I can!"

Luffy stared at him in surprise before grinning broadly.

"Of course you can help!" he exclaimed.

Usopp grinned in relief. "Yes! Thank you, thank you so much—what do I do?"

"We gotta break his spear," Luffy said. "Once we do, he'll go back to normal!"

"His spear, got it," Usopp said, and they ran back to battle just as Zoro fell to his knees.

"Chat, you okay?" Luffy exclaimed. "By the way, Usopp's gonna help us."

"I'm just fine," Zoro said, struggling to his feet. "I hurt my legs earlier. It's nothing I can't deal with."

"Okay, good," Luffy said in relief. "I'm gonna try to grab it with my yo-yo, and then you can use your Catakiss—Usopp, do you have any ammo you can use?"

"Y-Yeah, I—do you need me to distract him a bit?" Usopp exclaimed.

"Yeah, if you can, thanks," Luffy said.

"It's Cataclysm," Zoro muttered, stretching his legs.

"You should not have interfered, human!" Broggy roared as Usopp charged for him, firing a pellet which Broggy easily deflected. He hefted his spear and aimed it for Usopp, who screamed and dodged it just in time. Luffy threw out his medallion, but it was knocked aside by the very spear he was aiming for.

"You should learn . . ."

Broggy pointed to Usopp, who readied his slingshot again despite his fear.

"That mere men . . ."

His finger began glowing.

"Are no match for a _god!"_

A beam of bluish light shot from his finger and struck Usopp directly.

"Usopp!" Luffy and Zoro yelled together, running to him as he fell to his knees, his head surrounded by a faint blue glow.

"I'm fine," Usopp exclaimed, but when he looked back at Broggy, he cried out and flinched.

"Usopp?" Luffy said.

"I—I can't," Usopp whispered, shaking violently as he bowed his head. "I c-can't—fight him—can't do it—"

Nami and Vivi, several feet from the clearing, peeked around the trees.

"What happened to Usopp- _san_?" Vivi murmured. "Did Broggy- _san_ do something?"

"Broggy's calling himself Odin, isn't he?" Nami whispered. "It's said the god Odin could make men helpless in battle."

Luffy glared up at Broggy. "I don't know what happened, but you did something, didn't you?" he demanded as Zoro dragged Usopp out of the way.

Broggy grinned evilly. "Men should not pit themselves against a god," he declared. "That one got what he deserved!"

Zoro got Usopp to sit against a tree and hurried back, stumbling as he ran.

"Chat, I'm going to try to grab it again," Luffy announced. "Get ready!"

He ran forward, but then Broggy swung down a huge glowing finger, and a blast of light shot out—

" _Look out!"_

Zoro leapt forward with catlike grace, toppling Luffy out of the way only to be hit with the blast himself.

"Huh?" Luffy exclaimed. "Chat, what was— _Chat!"_

Zoro fell to his knees, a faint blue glow surrounding his head. Luffy hurried back to him.

"He got you, didn't he?" he said, making Zoro look up and noting the fear in his eyes. "That was so reckless! Why did you do that?!"

Zoro shook his head. "Didn't mean to," he muttered. "Couldn't let you get hit—you've got to purify it—"

"But you're my partner," Luffy protested, clutching Zoro's shoulders.

"You can do it without me." Zoro looked up at Broggy and his eyes widened as he began to shake. "You'll—I think you'll have to. I'm sorry, I—I can't—"

He clutched himself, staring at the ground, and flinched when he felt strong arms wrap around him.

"It's okay, kitty," Luffy whispered. "That was really stupid of you, but thanks for saving me. I'm gonna get you out of the way and I'll beat this guy and everything's gonna go back to normal."

He let go and grabbed Zoro's hands, pulling him to his feet. He managed to lead Zoro a ways away before letting go, allowing Zoro to sit against a tree near Usopp.

"Go get him," Zoro whispered.

Luffy grinned. "You know I will."

As he ran back to Broggy, he threw his medallion into the air with a cry of, "Lucky Charm!" and caught the item as he came to a stop.

"A mirror?" he muttered, examining his reflection. "Well, I look pretty cool, but how's that supposed to help me here?"

He flipped out of the way as Broggy thrust his glowing spear to him.

"You shall meet the same fate as your friends, Ladybug!" he roared, pointing a finger which began to glow. "And then I will take your Miraculouses!"

Luffy grinned. "Oh, I get it," he exclaimed. "Come at me, Oden or whatever your name is!"

He held up the mirror the second the blast of light was sent towards him. As it was deflected back, he muttered to himself, "I kind of want some oden now. Maybe Sanji will make it for dinner. With lots of meat."

Broggy was struck by the blast he had fired himself, and he fell to his knees.

"What—is this?" he gasped. "I can't—my legs won't move—"

"Nice try, Oden," Luffy said cheerfully, stepping forward, "but I'm going to send you back to Tartarus!"

"Wrong mythology!" Nami yelled from the trees.

Luffy seized the spear from Broggy's helpless hands and bit down hard. It splintered and cracked in two, and the moth fluttered out.

"Get over here," Luffy exclaimed, slinging out his medallion. "Gotcha!"

He soon released the purified moth, which fluttered into the sky. He knelt, picked up the mirror from where it had fallen, and threw it up to the heavens.

In just a few seconds, Broggy's outfit melted away, leaving him confused on the ground, and Usopp and Zoro regained their spirit, standing and hurrying over to Luffy (Zoro still wincing from his legs).

"Oh, thank goodness," Vivi exclaimed as she and Nami emerged from the trees. "Ladybug- _san_ , Chat Noir- _san_ , you did it?"

"Yeah," Luffy said, glancing at Broggy, who was sitting up and looking around in confusion. "He probably doesn't remember what happened."

"Ladybug, Chat Noir, I'm so sorry," Usopp blurted out, lip trembling. "I just wanted to help, and I only got in the way—"

"You didn't get in the way," Zoro said sternly. "Don't beat yourself up. It wasn't your fault."

"Hey, Chat," Luffy said. Zoro turned around and Luffy smacked his cheek. "Be more careful."

"You seem even more reckless than me," Zoro muttered, rubbing his face. "You're not exactly one to talk—"

"Oh, I'm about to turn back," Luffy exclaimed. "See you guys later!"

"I still have some time," Zoro said. "I didn't use my _Ca-ta-cly-sm_ , after all."

"Okay, well, see you another time! Bye!"

Luffy turned around ran into the trees.

"You're both weirdos," Nami declared.

"Nami, they're heroes," Usopp protested.

"We're not heroes," Zoro said. "How many times do we have to tell you?"

"Okay, but you really dress like heroes," Usopp pointed out. Vivi and Nami nodded.

"If you're not heroes, why are you doing this?" Nami added, squinting. "You're both pretty suspicious."

"Gee, thanks," Zoro snapped. "It's not like I _wanted_ to do this, and I'm not sure Ladybug did, either. We were forced into a deal, that's all."

"A deal?"

"Yeah, this is just temporary," Zoro muttered. "Going around saving people isn't what I'm into."

"You saved us," Nami pointed out.

"Well, we're friends, so that's different."

"Since when are we—"

"Well, wouldn't you know it, I'm about to turn back. I'll be off."

He turned and stumbled into the forest.

"Who was that?" Broggy murmured. "What happened?"

"Don't worry, Master Broggy, you're safe!' Usopp called. Broggy frowned in confusion.

"Hey!"

Luffy came running out of the trees, shirtless and dirty once more, a broad grin upon his face.

"I took care of Mr. 3!" he announced.

"What took you so long with that?" Nami demanded, hitting him over the head.

"Stuff," Luffy muttered.

"He probably got lost," Usopp muttered. "Luffy, did you run into Zoro? He said he went to help you."

Luffy laughed. "Well, Zoro's stupid, so he probably got lost in these woods!"

"Who's stupid?" Zoro demanded. The group turned to see Zoro emerging from a different part of the woods. "Luffy, there you are—"

"Zoro!" Luffy exclaimed in delight. He glanced down and his eyes widened. "Your legs are—?"

"They're fine, I'll sleep it off," Zoro muttered.

"That isn't something you sleep off!" Nami shrieked.

* * *

 _Grand Line Sea_

"Sanji, you'll never believe what happened while you were gone," Usopp exclaimed as the crew sailed past the obstacle of the giant goldfish. "Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up! Master Broggy was being controlled, and they saved the day! Well, Ladybug did, Chat Noir got hit with some power, and I did too—"

Sanji held up a hand. "They showed up?" he repeated. "While I wasn't there? Again?"

"Yeah, it was so cool!" Usopp exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air in excitement. "I got to help them! I mean, I didn't help much in the end, truth be told, but I tried my best, really I did!"

"They showed up and you got to help them," Sanji repeated flatly.

Usopp nodded. Sanji cursed under his breath and turned away.

"Hey, Luffy," he snapped, "don't think I don't see you with those cookies."

Luffy froze. "Uh . . . _what_ cookies?"

Sanji kicked him and caught the cookies which fell from his shirt.

"You might as well eat them now, but _ask_ next time, shithead," he snarled, throwing the treats back at Luffy, heading into the kitchen, and slamming the door shut. There was a shout and several bangs, and then Zoro limped out of the kitchen, rubbing his head.

Luffy laughed. "Were you stealing food, too?"

"Maybe," Zoro muttered, clutching his prize of cheese and crackers. "Cook seems in an awfully bad mood."

"He's probably just hungry," Luffy said wisely, heading up to the bow where he could give Tikki food in private.

As he handed Tikki the cookies, which she took with quiet thank-yous, he thought back to the battle and smiled. His partner had been so selfless and _cool_ , taking the hit like that—and not to mention that he was a great person to hug!

Luffy laughed to himself.

"What is it?" Tikki said, back to full strength.

Luffy shrugged, popping the last cookie into his mouth.


	4. It's Raining Somewhere Else

**Once again, sorry about the wait! Yesterday wasn't great for me, couldn't finish this in time.**

 **I might have to take next week off, but I'm not sure yet, so the next chapter will be on the 13th if I do.**

 **Quick note: "Paon" is French for "Peacock." Therefore, "Paondemonium" is just a pun which might mean "Peacock chaos."**

* * *

 _Rain Dinners, Alabasta_

"CROCODILE!"

Vivi's hands clenched in fury around her weapons as she stared fruitlessly to where Crocodile and Robin had vanished.

"Uh, Vivi?" Usopp called. "We can get Crocodile later! Y'know, as soon as we're _not dead from giant bananagators!"_

"Those stupid bananas are gonna get what's coming to them!" Luffy exclaimed, seizing the bars, only to slump to the ground yet again. Nami hoisted him up, handing him off to Usopp, who held Luffy above water with shaking legs.

Vivi let out a kind of strangled scream as she sank to the ground, barely aware of the deadly reptiles around her. "That _evil_ man—!"

"Vivi!" Nami yelled. "Hurry!"

Vivi looked up, but just as she began to refocus on her surroundings, something small and dark fluttered towards her . . .

"Something's there," Smoker said abruptly, his voice startling Usopp's whimpers into silence. "That butterfly doesn't look natural . . ."

"Butterfly?" Luffy and Zoro said simultaneously, looking outside.

"Oh, this isn't good," Luffy whispered. "Vivi's . . ."

The moth touched upon one of Vivi's peacock slashers, instantly turning it violet, and her head snapped up, mouth locked in a sneer as a disembodied voice spoke to her . . .

" _Princess Paondemonium, hear my words. I am called Tigermoth. I will grant you the power to seek revenge on the ones who have hurt you and your dear Alabasta, but in return, you must do me a small favor: Take the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir."_

Vivi's sneer turned into a grin.

"Alabasta will be free."

She stood, arms spread out as an ugly purple light dripped over her body. Once it faded, she was left standing in a stunning royal blue gown, decorated in colors imitating peacock quills. Her legs and arms were decorated with a skin-tight covering of peacock blue, and her peacock slashers, including the violet one, had formed bracelets upon her wrists. Her hair hung loose from a headband displaying vibrant gold feathers, and her eyes were decorated as if she wore a mask.

"Excellent," she murmured, flexing her fingers. The bananagators around her had paused in confusion, and they were just getting ready to attack again when one began making choking sounds, causing the others to turn to it in annoyance.

"Vivi?" Usopp exclaimed. "Vivi, don't tell me—?"

Vivi turned to the cage with a wicked smile. "Do not call me by that name!" she declared. "I am now Princess Paondemonium, and I will free Alabasta!"

"Oh, Vivi," Nami breathed.

"What's happening?" Smoker demanded, keeping an eye on the water level. "Does the Alabasta princess have a hidden power?"

"Not quite," Zoro said, keeping an eye on her as that bananagator continued to wheeze. "She's—"

"What the heck is _that?"_ Luffy exclaimed, distracted from Vivi's plight by the interesting object which the bananagator had managed to hack up.

The wax ball burst open and Mr. 3 jumped out. "I survived!" he cried gleefully. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Mr. 0!"

He looked down and screamed when he noticed the water, opting to stand on his broken wax ball rather than drown.

"Oh, it's just Three," Luffy said flatly. "I guess he's alive."

Mr. 3 looked around, assessing the situation.

"A strange woman in a costume," he warbled. "Pirates and a Marine in a cage. Deadly bananagators all around. Right! That settles it! I am _out_ of here!"

"Mr. 3," Vivi said sweetly, approaching him through the water, "you're just in time. I need someone to get rid of these bananagators for me."

"Excuse me?!" Mr. 3 cried as the bananagator who had spit him up recovered and the others began licking their chops. "I only just escaped one, you strange woman, and I intend to leave this place!"

Vivi held up her left hand, extending the first two fingers.

"Contrôler!"

Her fingers glowed a pale green as they touched Mr. 3's forehead. Instantly, his shoulders slumped and he fell to one knee.

"How may I serve you, my princess?" he inquired.

"Huh?!" Usopp cried. "He was—now he's—?!"

"We gotta get out of here," Luffy said. "Soon as possible."

"Yeah," Zoro muttered, arms folded. Under his breath, he hissed something and the movement in his _haramaki_ stopped. Luffy adjusted his hat with a murmured, "I _know,"_ prompting a quizzical look from Usopp.

"Mr. 3," Vivi said, "keep these bananagators back."

"As you desire, my lady," Mr. 3 declared, standing with a smile, his small eyes oddly green. He turned to the bananagators and began producing iron-like walls of wax, successfully keeping them at bay.

Vivi approached the cage in the center of the room, holding herself almost haughtily as she eyed the trapped ones.

"Vivi, snap out of it, please," Usopp exclaimed, nearly dropping Luffy—he opted for throwing Luffy over to Zoro, who caught him with a snap to be careful, though Luffy only climbed atop Zoro's head like a monkey. "This isn't like you, you don't _need_ this—"

"Didn't you _hear_ me?" Vivi said in a tone so cold it froze Usopp's voice. "You are to refer to me as Princess Paondemonium!"

"Is that a pun?" Luffy stage-whispered to Zoro.

"If it is, I've got no clue what it means," Zoro hissed.

"But you all _have_ been rather useful thus far," Vivi added, making them look up again. "Perhaps you can be useful in other ways. Mr. 3!"

"Yes, my lady?" Mr. 3 exclaimed, turning around. The bananagators began putting cracks in his walls—they would not be detained for long.

"Come here and open this cage," Vivi ordered. "I know you can make a key."

"At once, my princess," Mr. 3 said, nearly tripping in his haste to get to the cage. He found a plank of wood to stand on, avoiding the water, and formed a key on the tip of his finger, carefully inserting it into the lock and opening up the cage door.

"Don't worry, Nami- _san_ , Vivi- _chan_ , your prince has come for you!"

The company turned to see Sanji leaping down the shattered stairs with a big smile. "And the rest of you losers, too, I suppose, but—hang on, what's going on?"

"Oh?" Vivi said, approaching Sanji with Mr. 3 standing at attention behind her. The others snuck out of the cage while she was distracted, Luffy riding on Zoro's head and Smoker turning into a plume until he landed on top of the cage. Luffy and Zoro muttered half-baked excuses to each other before Luffy rocketed behind one of the wax walls and Zoro crept behind the cage.

"Oh, no," Nami exclaimed. "Sanji- _kun_ , don't let her get close!"

"What?" Sanji said, looking around. "No, wait, Nami- _san_ , really, what's going on? Where's Vivi- _chan_?"

"Look in front of you!" Usopp yelled.

Sanji focused on the approaching regal figure and his eyes widened.

"Vivi- _chan_?" he said, stunned. "What—? What happened—?"

"You are to call me Princess Paondemonium," Vivi snapped, one hand on her hip.

"She's been—I don't know the word, but it happened to Mr. 9 and that round giant!" Nami exclaimed. "Wait, you weren't there for either of those—"

"The word's 'akumatized.'"

Everyone turned to see Zoro, decked out in his suit, crouched behind Smoker.

Smoker narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you? Where did you come from?"

"At least, that's what I was told," Zoro continued, ignoring Smoker as he leapt down. "Why don't we get this flashy charade over with, Princess Whatever?"

"Yeah, that's the word," Nami said, nodding. "Wait, _Chat Noir?!_ When did you—how—where—?!"

"Chat Noir!" Usopp exclaimed in delight. "Oh, thank god, you can save us, can't you?!"

"Oh, I'm here before Ladybug," Zoro said, his tone a touch pleased. He glanced at Sanji. "Hey, blondie, I don't care _what_ you think about women, you'd better get away from her if you want to keep your own mind."

Sanji stared at him. "Uh . . . right," he said as if dazed, stepping away from Vivi.

"Hey, am I late?" Luffy, dressed as Ladybug, leapt out from somewhere, landing next to Smoker. "Chat, you're here!"

"What now?" Smoker snapped.

"Long story," Nami said shortly. "You two—you'd better save her! She's our friend!"

"Yep," Luffy said. "No problem. Only, there is a problem, because the water's getting higher, and I can't swim."

"Oh, that's just great," Zoro said under his breath.

Usopp looked back to Vivi and cried out loud.

"Sanji—!"

Sanji turned just in time for Vivi to murmur, "Contrôler," as she touched his forehead with glowing fingers.

He sank to one knee and uttered reverently, "How may I serve you, my princess?"

"Oh, for god's sake," Nami hissed.

"Aw, man, not Sanji," Luffy muttered. "Hey, Chat, I took out those bananagators, so we don't have to worry about them."

"When did you do that?" Zoro muttered.

"Earlier."

"Come to think of it, where's Luffy and Zoro?" Usopp said, hiding behind Nami as Sanji looked up at Vivi, his eyes oddly green. "They didn't get eaten?"

Before Luffy or Zoro could come up with excuses, Vivi said, "Sanji, Mr. 3; make sure those two hold still for me." She gestured to Usopp and Nami.

"Yes, my lady," they exclaimed, and turned to Nami and Usopp, whose eyes widened as they backed up.

"Guys, get up here!" Luffy called, slinging out his medallion into Mr. 3's head and knocking him into the water, where he lay still on his back. Nami and Usopp scrambled to get to the cage and accepted Luffy's hand. Sanji began going after them, but Zoro ran forward and punched him in the face, sending him stumbling back.

"Wow, that felt _great,"_ Zoro exclaimed. He glanced over. "You guys okay?"

"They're fine!" Luffy called. "Hey, Nami, Usopp, stay up here, okay? Unless you wanna help."

They shook their heads. "We'll cheer you on," Nami offered.

Luffy grinned. "Got it! Smokey, keep them safe!"

Nami and Usopp eyed Smoker nervously as he scowled. "Why should I listen to you?"

"You're staying up here anyway to avoid the water, aren't you? Nami and Usopp have to stay up here, too, so you might as well keep them safe while you're at it," Luffy said cheekily. "Have fun!"

He leapt down, landing on Zoro's shoulders to keep out of the water.

"Bastard," Smoker said under his breath. He eyed Nami and Usopp, who edged away nervously. "It's not like I can arrest you right now, even if you two had bounties . . ."

Vivi held herself haughtily, facing Luffy and Zoro.

"It's in her bracelet thing, right?" Luffy said, pointing to it. Zoro nodded.

"I got this," Zoro muttered, grabbing his staff. He extended it towards Vivi, but Sanji came leaping out of nowhere and seized it, using it to fling Luffy and Zoro up and far over himself and Vivi. Zoro caught Luffy bridal-style just before he landed in the water, successfully crouching on the ground.

"Hi, kitty," Luffy said, holding Zoro's neck with a grin.

"Don't make me drop you!" Zoro snarled. "Can you take care of blondie while I get Vivi?"

"Yeah. Be careful!"

With that, Luffy climbed up on top of Zoro's shoulders and leapt towards Sanji with a battle cry, landing on his head and forcing him to come to a halt, trying not to lose his balance. Zoro darted around Vivi and stood at the entrance to the cage door, water lapping up near his hips.

"Hey, Princess Peacock, come get me!" he taunted, waving his hands. "You want my Miraculous, don't you?"

With a glance at Sanji and a sneer, Vivi hopped on broken stone over to Zoro, doing her best to stay high and dry. But just as she reached out to his forehead, he used his staff as a means to vault himself over her and pushed her into the cage, shutting the door with a _click_.

"Nice!" Luffy called, still keeping Sanji distracted. "Grab the bracelet and we're done!"

Zoro seized Vivi's left wrist through the bars, but before he could snap up the bracelet, she yanked her hand upwards and touched her fingers to his forehead.

"Aw, no!" Luffy exclaimed.

Zoro slumped and knelt before Vivi, ignoring the water lapping just above his hips.

"How may I serve you, my princess?"

"Let me out of this cage," Vivi ordered, "and get me out of this water!"

"As you wish." Zoro, his eyes now oddly green rather than grey, straightened up. He flexed his hand, and with a cry of, "Cataclysm!" he destroyed the bars.

"Chat Noir?" Usopp cried. Zoro picked up Vivi, holding her above the water.

"Well, shoot, this is a problem," Luffy mumbled, ignoring Sanji's muffled yells. He stood on Sanji's shoulders and did a flip over to the cage's roof, landing as he threw his medallion with a call of, "Lucky Charm!"

He caught the item and examined it.

"Tape?" Usopp muttered.

"Now's not the time for a craft project," Nami snapped.

"I don't get to pick what it is," Luffy protested. He eyed Vivi. "But I think I know what I can do."

"Sanji!" Vivi exclaimed. "Seize Ladybug immediately!"

"At once, my lady!" Sanji exclaimed, but then Luffy jumped down, swinging around his medallion. He roped up Zoro in such a way that Vivi was dropped with a small shriek, and Zoro was left with his arms and legs wrapped up like a burrito.

"Gotcha!" Luffy exclaimed, clinging to Vivi's back as she straightened up and holding her arms captive with his legs. He peeled off some tape and stuck it on her mouth, muffling any further orders she might have given.

"Sorry, Vivi," he whispered. Vivi struggled to get him off of her as Zoro fruitlessly wriggled under the string tying him up.

"How _dare_ you?" Sanji snarled, striding forward.

"Huh?" Nami called, exaggeratedly putting a hand to one ear. "What was that?"

The others looked around at her.

"Oh! Sanji- _kun_ , can't you hear that?" she exclaimed. "Your princess is telling you to take that purple bracelet off her wrist!"

"What?" Usopp cried exaggeratedly. "Why, Nami, how could you say such a thing? If he does that, Ladybug will surely be defeated!"

They winked at Luffy, who grinned widely.

"As you command, my lady!" Sanji declared, hurrying to Vivi and gently removing the bracelet from her wrist. With her mouth taped shut, Vivi could not stop him.

"Hey, Sanji," Luffy said. As soon as Sanji looked up, Luffy beaned him with the tape roll, making him loosen his grip enough so that Luffy could lean over and snatch it up. With a hard yank, he shattered the string, and the moth came fluttering out.

"Awesome!" he exclaimed. He pulled on his medallion, sending Zoro spinning in place like a toy top, and managed to catch the bug. Once it was released, it fluttered away.

"And . . . there!"

He grabbed the tape roll again and flung it into the air. It vanished, and the damage was undone—Sanji and Zoro were freed from the spell, the cage's bars rebuilt themselves, and Vivi fell to her knees, Luffy still on her back as she reverted to her own self.

"Thanks!" Luffy added to Nami and Usopp as they hopped down from the cage roof, Smoker eyeing them.

"What's . . . going on?" Vivi murmured, straightening up and inadvertently sending Luffy toppling into the water.

"What happened?" Sanji muttered, rubbing his head. "Oh! Vivi- _chan_ —"

He hurried to her, but Nami and Usopp got there first, Usopp throwing Luffy to Zoro and Nami hugging Vivi.

"Nami- _san_?" Vivi exclaimed.

"Thank god you're back," Nami said, smiling. "Are you okay?"

"Back? What—" Vivi looked around. "Ladybug- _san_? Chat Noir- _san_?"

Zoro frowned at Luffy as he caught him. "I got hypnotized, didn't I?"

Luffy nodded.

"I'm sorry. That was careless."

But Luffy just grinned. "It's okay, kitty."

He kissed Zoro on the cheek.

"You're still really cool!"

Zoro's eyes widened and he nearly dropped Luffy as Usopp gave a shout of surprise.

"You two are—?" he exclaimed, pointing from Luffy to Zoro.

"Are what?" Luffy said. "Huh? Chat, are you okay?"

"You—uh—"

"What? Oh, do you not like being kissed? I won't do it again."

"Ladybug?" Sanji said. "Chat Noir? What the hell happened?"

"It's not that I don't like—" Zoro struggled to find his words. "I just—uh—you—"

"I'm about to change back," Luffy announced. "I think you are, too?"

"You're right," Zoro said, relieved for a change of subject. He glanced up. "What the hell are you staring at, blondie?"

Sanji jumped. "Nothing! I just—"

"Hey, you two," Nami said, still holding Vivi around the shoulders, "I have questions for you!"

"Think you can ask them next time we meet?" Zoro said. "This water's—"

And the glass burst open completely.

* * *

 _Alabasta Desert_

In the chaos, no one had seen Luffy and Zoro turn back, and everyone made it successfully above ground. Once Luffy had hugged Vivi and assured her everything was going to be okay, Crocodile had tried to kidnap her, and Luffy switched himself with her just in time.

The Strawhats sans Luffy now rode upon Pincers, Zoro lifting Lashes like a weight.

"What happened back there?" Vivi said at last. "The bananagators were surrounding me, and then . . . ?"

Nami and Usopp glanced at each other.

"Should we tell her?" Usopp stage-whispered.

"Maybe it's better for her not to know," Nami stage-whispered back.

"I can hear you," Vivi murmured.

"You were akumatized," Zoro said bluntly. "Like what happened to your partner on Whiskey Peak, and the giant from Little Garden."

Vivi's eyes widened. "What?! Something like _that_ happened?!" She looked around. "Oh, no, did I cause you all trouble? I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be like that," Nami said, waving a hand. "Whoever attacked us, it sure wasn't _you_."

"I attacked you?!"

Nami rolled her eyes. "It's _okay._ I'm sure it could happen to anyone."

"You didn't cause us trouble at all, my princess!" Sanji declared, taking her hand lovingly.

Usopp narrowed his eyes. "Are we sure he's not still hypnotized?"

"What's going on?" Chopper said, looking around. "Did something happen?"

Nami sighed. "Vivi got akumatized and Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up."

"Ladybug and who?"

"Oh, yeah, you haven't met them yet!" Usopp exclaimed. "They're these super-awesome heroes who save the day!"

"What?! Heroes?!" Chopper cried.

"Yeah, totally!" Usopp waved his arms around. "I dunno where they went, but they're definitely okay! Anyway, Vivi was being controlled by something, and they saved her!"

"Oh, they did?" Vivi exclaimed. She bowed her head. "I'd like to thank them . . ."

"That's so _cool!"_ Chopper cried in delight. "I wanna meet them!"

"We might see them again," Usopp said wisely. "Oh, and Ladybug actually kissed Chat Noir! Do you think they're a couple?!"

Zoro dropped Lashes, who snorted in anger and turned away from him.

"By the way, Zoro," Nami said, "where did you and Luffy go during all that?"

"Luffy was probably trying to avoid the water," Zoro said, still facing away, "and I was watching from behind the cage."

"You're never around when they show up," Usopp muttered. "You're missing out on everything!"

"I can watch from afar," Zoro snapped.

Sanji raised a hand. "Quick question. Why don't I remember what happened?"

"You were under a spell," Nami said.

Sanji slumped where he sat. "I missed the fight . . . ? Again? And I didn't even get to talk to them . . ."

"Don't tell me _you're_ a fan, too," Zoro muttered.

"What—? Of course not," Sanji protested. "Sure, those two are pretty cool, and I do like Chat Noir's hair, but a _fan?_ Don't be—don't be ridiculous!"

"They sound really cool," Chopper whispered, quivering in excitement.

"Mr. Bushido?" Vivi said in surprise. "What are you doing?"

Zoro had laid himself flat and facedown on the crab's back.

"Zoro, don't be weird," Usopp muttered.

"Tell that to all the weird things happening today," Zoro muttered, voice muffled.

* * *

 _Alubarna_

"What _I_ want to know," Nami said, staring out the window at the pouring rain, "is where Ladybug and Chat Noir were while we were fighting."

"Huh?" Usopp said as Zoro pretended not to hear her, focusing on Luffy instead (he was unconscious in bed for the second day in a row).

"If they want to play hero, shouldn't they have helped somehow?" Nami said impatiently. "I know it all ended up working out, but a little help would have been nice!"

"They probably had really important hero stuff to do," Usopp protested.

"Like what? We know they're in Alabasta, or at least they _were_ —"

"So maybe they were helping keep citizens safe in the streets while we fought Baroque Works," Zoro muttered.

"Do you think so?" Vivi murmured, adjusting Luffy's hat on the small table to keep herself busy. Karoo squawked softly.

" _I_ didn't see them," Sanji muttered as if peeved.

* * *

 _Grand Line Sea_

"Is he always so relaxed?" Robin murmured.

Nami jumped, eyeing Robin, who had crept up behind her. She turned her attention back to Luffy, who had passed out in a peaceful nap against the railing, still wearing his blue robe from Alabasta.

"I suppose so," she said at last. "You can always count on him in a proper fight, but he tends to let his guard down on the ship when we're around."

Robin smiled. "I see."

As they watched, Zoro passed by Luffy, having just finished his workout. He glanced to him, sighed, picked him up, and settled against the railing, pulling Luffy into his lap with his arms wrapped loosely around him. He, too, fell asleep within seconds.

"They're peas in a pod," Nami muttered, heading away. "I'll be indoors."

Luffy curled up against Zoro's chest in his sleep.


	5. Small Shock

***kicks down door* WE'RE BACK**

 **"Tempêtress" is a combination of "temptress" and the French word for storm, "tempête."**

* * *

 _Grand Line Sea_

"You know," Usopp said, leaning against the railing, "I'm kinda surprised Ladybug and Chat Noir didn't show up on the Sky Island . . ."

"I'm not," Nami muttered. "Why would they be there in the first place? They would've had to stow away on our ship, right?"

"But maybe they can fly," Usopp argued.

"If they could fly, Ladybug would've flown above the water back when Vivi was akumatized instead of jumping on everyone's heads," Nami pointed out.

"Oh, good point," Usopp murmured. "And they don't have capes, either."

"You don't need a cape to fly."

Nami and Usopp jumped and turned to see Robin leaning on the railing next to Nami.

"Don't sneak up like that," Nami exclaimed.

"Sorry. If you don't mind . . ." Robin tilted her head. "Who are Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

While Nami only rolled her eyes, Usopp lit up. "They're super-cool heroes!" he exclaimed, waving his arms. "They come to save the day when someone's in trouble!"

"Heroes, hm?" Robin murmured.

"Well, they keep saying they're not heroes, but they sure look the part!" Usopp amended. "We've seen them three times now!"

"Four," Nami said. "You were asleep the second time."

"Oh, yeah. Anyway, four times!"

Robin smiled. "They sound very cool. Do you think we'll see them again?"

"I guess that depends on whether they've gotta come save the day," Usopp said wisely. "For a hero does not come when wanted, only when needed."

At this Robin hid a laugh. "Well-said, Long-nose- _kun_. Navigator- _san_ , I assume you're not a fan?"

"They're annoying is all," Nami muttered. "They keep disappearing before I can interrogate them."

"But they're our friends," Usopp exclaimed.

Nami shrugged. "I guess? They do seem to help out an awful lot . . ."

"See, friends."

Robin left the railing, heading indoors.

"That doesn't mean—never mind," Nami said, turning her gaze to the sea. "By the way, can you do something about the Clima Takt?"

"What about it?" Usopp said in surprise. "I thought it was good. Didn't you use it in the sky, too?"

"Yeah, but the first time I used it . . ." Nami rolled her eyes over to him. "Your instructions were confusing, and are those party tricks _really_ necessary?"

Usopp held up his hands. "You never know when you'll run into a party!"

"But it's supposed to be for _fighting_ ," Nami exclaimed. "My party tricks involve bets, not magic shows!"

"Really, though, how often do you fight?" Usopp said skeptically, folding his arms. "Aren't you usually running?"

"I don't always want to fight, but that doesn't mean I don't always have to," Nami snapped. "I need a weapon. A _good_ weapon."

"Like I said, isn't it fine as it is?" Usopp exclaimed. "The party tricks are just a bonus!"

"It needs to be stronger!"

"It's already at least _twice_ as strong as you, so—"

Usopp clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide, but the damage was done.

"What was that?" Nami said dangerously.

"Nothing," Usopp whispered behind his hand.

"You think I'm weak?"

Usopp frantically shook his head, lowering his hand. "I didn't mean—"

"You think I'm not _good enough?"_

Usopp didn't dare say anything, but it seemed this was the wrong choice; Nami straightened, turned around, and stormed away.

"Aw, crap," Usopp muttered.

Zoro passed by Nami. He didn't dare speak to her, and so he wandered over to Usopp and leaned against the railing.

"What happened?" he asked, jerking his head to where Nami slammed the door leading to the women's quarters.

Usopp winced. "I, uh . . . accidentally, may have, sort-of, implied or said that . . . she was weak."

Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, that is—" Usopp gulped. "Well, we were talking about the Clima Takt and fighting and it slipped out—"

"She isn't weak." Zoro shifted his position on the railing.

"I know."

"Even if the enemy's stronger than her in a fight, she's got good tricks up her sleeve." Zoro glanced at him. "Like you."

Usopp nodded, head hung in shame. "I'll go apologize."

"Good man."

"But _after_ she's calmed down. I don't want to lose a limb."

Zoro chuckled. "True. Good luck."

* * *

Robin glanced up from her bed as Nami came storming down the stairs, stomping to her bed and throwing herself facedown onto it.

"What happened?" she asked.

Nami groaned into her pillow. Robin stood and ascended the stairs, shutting the door gently behind her.

She did not notice the violet moth slip through just before it shut.

Nami soon sat up, stretched, and leaned over to her dresser. She grabbed the pieces of the Clima Takt and snapped them together, spinning it once like a baton.

As she clutched it, the moth landed upon it; the insect vanished, turning the weapon an ugly purple, and Nami's expression darkened as she stared ahead, a voice whispering to her inside her head . . .

" _Listen to me, Tempêtress. I am called Tigermoth. You have been greatly wronged, and I will give you the ability to take revenge and prove your power, if you will take the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir as a favor to me. Will you accept this deal?"_

"Sounds good," Nami murmured, a small smile growing. She stood, the akumatized Clima Takt held tightly . . .

* * *

"Robin- _chan_ ," Sanji exclaimed as she entered the kitchen. "Is there something you need, my dear? Coffee?"

"No, thank you," Robin said, sitting at the table. "I just thought you should know Navigator- _san_ 's in a bad mood. Do you think a cold drink would perk up her mood?"

"What?!" Sanji exclaimed. "She's unhappy?! Of course I'll make her something! Thank you, Robin- _chan!"_

Robin nodded and stood. "I'll be outside."

Sanji whipped up a cold fruit drink in no time and placed it lovingly on a tray before spinning outside, trotting down the stairs and opening the door to the women's quarters.

"Oh, Nami- _san!"_ he exclaimed with a smile when he saw a figure already there. "My love, I heard you weren't feeling well—"

A pause. He narrowed his eyes.

"Nami- _san?"_

The figure stepped into the light, showing off an outrageous outfit. Her hair was styled upwards in both shape and color like a thundercloud, the top ending in lightning bolt spikes. Her eyes were decorated with a dark orange mask and her lips with blue lipstick. Her torso was covered by a watery blue top, covering all the way to her fingertips, the cloth on the forearms in tatters like rainfall, while her thighs were covered with puffy ice-like pants, her calves with snowy tights, and her feet in dark green boots. Over her shoulder she held a folded violet umbrella, and on her face she held a smile.

"Sanji," she said sweetly. "Don't call me that."

"Nami- _san?"_ Sanji said blankly. "Is that you, my dear?"

"I _said_ don't _call_ me that," Nami snapped, temper flaring. But she smiled sweetly again. " _I_ am the Tempêtress, and you are to refer to me as such. Now, get out of my way. I need to find Usopp."

Sanji stepped forward, keeping her indoors.

"Nami- _san_ , I . . ." He looked down. "I'm sorry. I can't. This is . . . this is like what happened to Vivi- _chan_ , isn't it?"

"I said move."

"I'm sorry. I won't."

Nami took a step back, lifted an arm, and pointed at Sanji, who stood his ground.

"Ice Beam!"

A burst of bluish-white shot from her finger. Numbing cold crept all over Sanji until he could move no more.

Sanji now stood frozen in place, covered in ice like a decorative statue. Nami shoved him aside and left him there, striding past with a wicked grin.

* * *

"What's wrong?"

Usopp and Zoro glanced up as Luffy bounced over to them.

"Nothing, I'm gonna take care of it later," Usopp mumbled.

"Oh, okay," Luffy said easily, draping his legs over the railing and resting with his head upside-down on the deck.

Zoro looked at him with a fond smile and opened his mouth as if to say something, but—

" _Usopp!"_

All three looked around to see Nami, umbrella now open over her shoulder, standing at the top of the stairs and glowering.

"What the heck?" Luffy said, flipping himself rightside-up. "Is that—Nami? Is that you?"

Nami turned her glare to him for a moment. "I am the Tempêtress," she declared. Turning back to Usopp, she took a step forward. " _You_ will know hell for what you've done!"

Usopp's eyes widened and he backed up against the railing, nearly sending himself overboard. "Nami?" he exclaimed. "What—what's going—?"

Nami raised her hand. Zoro's eyes widened and he turned to Usopp with a yell of, "Move!"

He tackled Usopp and Luffy out of the way as Nami brought her hand down with a cry of, "Thunderbolt!"

A burst of lightning struck exactly where Usopp had been moments before. He trembled where he lay.

"She's . . . been akumatized?" Usopp whispered.

"Yeah," Zoro said, smacking his _haramaki_ to stop the insistent movements. Luffy adjusted his hat. "Let's get out of here."

Luffy grabbed Usopp and the three ran for it.

"Get _back_ here!" Nami yelled. She twirled her umbrella and floated into the air. She exclaimed, "Fly!" and soared high above the deck.

"Guys!" Chopper cried as Luffy, Usopp, and Zoro jumped down the stairs. Robin was just behind him, coming down from the bow. "I was napping, and then I came outside, and Sanji—what the heck happened to Sanji?!"

The three turned around and finally saw the Sanji statue.

"Oh, shoot, Nami must've done that," Luffy exclaimed.

"Navigator- _san?"_ Robin said in surprise. "I knew she was in a bad mood, but . . . ?"

"Why would Nami do this?" Chopper whimpered, holding Robin's leg. "And—and we gotta help Sanji, we need to draw water—"

"No, not really," Zoro said.

"Zoro!"

"I'm serious," Zoro snapped. "Once Nami's saved, all the damage will be undone. That's what happened the last few times."

"Saved?" Robin repeated.

"She's been akumatized," Usopp whispered. "And, uh, I think it's my fault."

Luffy set him down and got him standing. "Right. I don't know what you did, but you'd better apologize when she's back to normal."

"Yeah, I know," Usopp whispered. "I was gonna say sorry, but then—"

" _HOLD STILL!"_

Usopp and Chopper screamed and leapt out of the way as Nami landed on the deck from the sky, umbrella closed and pointed where Usopp had just been.

"Holy shit," Zoro muttered as Nami removed the umbrella from the splintered wood of Merry.

"Nami?" Chopper whispered, clinging to Robin's leg.

Nami glanced down at him with a smile. "Don't call me that, Chopper," she said sweetly. "I am the Tempêtress, and I'm _not_ saying it again."

"Hey, Zoro," Luffy said, turning to him. "Let's get Sanji out of the way. Robin, Chopper, can you guys protect Usopp for a bit?"

"Okay," Chopper exclaimed, still confused as he turned big. Robin crossed her arms and held back Nami with phantom hands as Luffy and Zoro carried Sanji into the kitchen.

"I'll, uh, make sure he's safe, or something," Zoro mumbled. "You go back out."

"Okay," Luffy agreed, running back outside. He didn't hear Zoro mutter something as he opened the trapdoor in the deck and jumped into the men's quarters, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Tikki," he said, lifting up his hat and allowing her to fly out. "Transform me!"

As soon as he was transformed, he climbed through the door to the women's quarters, ran up the stairs, and burst through the door.

"I'm here!" he yelled.

At nearly the same time, Zoro, dressed in his suit, slammed open the kitchen door.

"I'm here first!" he exclaimed. He spotted Luffy. "Damn it!"

"You two!" Nami exclaimed.

"Oh, thank god," Usopp cried in relief, hiding behind Robin.

"Huh?" Chopper exclaimed, looking between Luffy and Zoro.

"Superheroes, hm?" Robin murmured, releasing Nami. "You two wouldn't be the famous Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

"You've heard of us?" Luffy said, rather pleased. "I'm flattered!"

"Save that for later," Zoro muttered. "We have to take care of Nami. Robin, Chopper, if you two want to help, that's fine. Usopp, go hide."

"Right," Usopp exclaimed, running for the storage door. Nami made to go after him, but Luffy and Zoro stood in front of her.

"How do you know our names?" Chopper asked, staring at them with curious eyes.

Luffy and Zoro glanced at each other.

"It's a magic thing," Zoro said at last.

"Oh, a magic thing!"

"Get out of my way, you two," Nami hissed. "I'll deal with you later!"

"No way," Luffy said. "Hey, Chat, it's her umbrella, right?"

"Yup," Zoro muttered. "Hey, by the way, about that kiss—"

"Fine," Nami snapped. "If I have to take care of you two first, so be it!"

With a sweeping gesture, she yelled, "Icicle Spear!" and pointed chunks of ice materialized and rained upon Luffy and Zoro. They leapt and rolled out of the way.

"I'm . . . gonna go hide!" Chopper declared. He turned small and ran up to the tangerine bushes, peeking through them to watch the fight despite his fear.

"That's some attack," Luffy remarked from where he now clung to the main mast. "A weather ability, huh? Pretty _ice_ power."

"Grab it now," Zoro called from above the bow.

Luffy seized his medallion and swung it out, aiming for the umbrella's stick, but Nami spun in place, twirled her hand, and exclaimed, "Hurricane!"

A huge, spiraling gust swept Luffy's medallion out of the way and Luffy off of the mast. He yelled as he was swung around and around in the wind, eventually landing on the deck, falling onto his back.

"You okay?" Zoro exclaimed, leaping down.

Luffy groaned, voice wavering. "Dizzy . . ."

Zoro brought Luffy to him in a close hug. "Okay. I'll get you out of the way."

Suddenly realizing what he was doing, he pushed Luffy away, holding him at arm's length and throwing him over to the tangerine bushes.

"Chopper!" he called. "Keep an eye on him until he's ready to go!"

"Okay!" Chopper exclaimed.

Zoro turned back to Nami, only to be struck with a small shock as she exclaimed, "Discharge!" He found himself paralyzed in place as she raised her hand.

"Who's to say whether or not the weather will be good?" she taunted. "Only I have a say, Chat Noir!"

Just before she brought her hand down, she herself was wrapped up in phantom limbs.

"You said you needed the umbrella?" Robin said. Zoro nodded.

"Let go," Nami hissed. Robin tried to pluck the umbrella from her, but her grip was too strong.

Meanwhile, Luffy's vision returned and his head cleared. He found Chopper leaning over him, staring intently.

"Chopper," he said, sitting up as Chopper sat back.

"You're okay?" Chopper exclaimed.

"Yeah, thanks for keeping an eye out," Luffy said cheerfully. He glanced through the bushes to see Robin holding back Nami as Zoro slowly regained movement. "Shoot, I'm gonna have to use the Lucky Charm."

"Wait, um—Ladybug?"

Luffy turned back to see Chopper looking at him with shining eyes.

"You . . . you smell a lot like my friend Luffy," Chopper said slowly. "Could it be . . . ? You two are good friends?!"

Luffy grinned. "Uh, let's go with that!"

"That's so cool!" Chopper exclaimed. "You're really cool!"

"I know."

He leapt out of the bushes and rolled to a stop next to Zoro just as Nami, with an evil look, exclaimed, "Volt Tackle!"

Robin was struck by a surge of electricity through her phantom hands. She cried out, the hands vanishing, and was rooted to the spot with paralysis.

"Aw, man," Luffy muttered. He threw his medallion into the air and cried, "Lucky Charm!"

The item fell from the sky into his hands.

"What is that, a trash-can lid?" Zoro said, eyeing the large disk. "You gonna clean up the ship?"

"I _don't_ think that's what this is for," Luffy said slowly.

"Well, I had to say _something_ —"

Nami held her umbrella above her head and flew into the air again. Luffy eyed her as she raised her hand.

"I got this," he announced. "Chat, get ready!"

"Hurricane!" Nami called, and Luffy crouched upon the metal disk as he was lifted into the air.

"Oh, this is _way_ cool!" he yelled as he surfed the wind, wobbling to and fro. Nami glowered and sent gust after gust towards him, but he dodged each with nimble swaying.

"Bubble Beam!" Nami yelled in frustration, aiming a blast of water at Luffy, but he flung out his medallion just in time, wrapping it around her waist and bringing her crashing to the deck with him.

"Chat!" Luffy exclaimed, holding Nami tightly.

"Right," Zoro said. He darted forward, seized the umbrella (Nami's grip now slippery from the water), and exclaimed, "Cataclysm!"

The umbrella rusted and fell apart underneath his touch, and the moth fluttered out. Luffy brought back his medallion, flung it out, and caught it. He stood, leaving Nami kneeling on the deck, and he opened up the medallion again as Zoro straightened up, dropping the remains to the deck.

"There we go," Luffy murmured, releasing the purified moth. He knelt, picked up the metal disk, and threw it high into the air.

The damage was undone. Merry's deck returned to normal, dry and free of marks again; Robin was freed from paralysis, and indoors, Sanji unfroze; the broken umbrella returned to the form of the Clima Takt; and Nami's outfit melted away like snow in the sun.

"What the hell?" she muttered, sitting up and rubbing her head.

Usopp pushed open the door to the storage room. "Everything's good? Nami? Are you okay?"

Nami frowned when she noticed Luffy and Zoro. "What the—?"

Luffy helped her up and hugged her with a big grin. "I'm glad you're back! Are you okay?"

Nami pushed him away. "What? I'm fine—"

"That was _so cool!"_ Chopper cried, jumping down to the deck. "Nami's back!"

"Nami- _san!"_ Sanji yelled, bursting out of the kitchen, drink and tray still in hand. He looked around. "Ladybug? Chat Noir?"

"Nice job, Chat," Luffy said cheerfully.

"Navigator- _san_ , you're with us again?" Robin said pleasantly.

"Hold up, wait," Nami said. "What the hell happened?"

"You were . . ." Sanji hesitated. "Akumatized."

Nami's eyes widened. "What?!"

Usopp cleared his throat. "Uh, Nami—" He bowed low. "I'm really sorry. I swear I didn't mean it. You're not weak at all."

She folded her arms and eyed him.

"I'll make the Clima Takt better as soon as I get the parts together."

A glare.

"Free of charge."

Nami grinned and approached Usopp, giving him a one-armed hug. "Well, alright then! Let bygones be bygones!"

"You sure caused us a lot of trouble just now," Zoro muttered.

"You'll forgive me because I'm cute, right?"

"Of course, Nami- _san!"_ Sanji exclaimed. He turned to Luffy and Zoro. "Ladybug, Chat Noir, could I talk to you in private for a moment? I wanted to ask you for—"

"Before that," Nami said, letting go of Usopp and eyeing Luffy and Zoro, "I have questions for you two!"

"Make them quick," Luffy said.

"First of all, what the heck is up with this akumatizing stuff?!"

"Basically, someone gets possessed by a man named Tigermoth when they're really mad or sad," Zoro said, scratching the back of his neck. "He wants our ribbons for whatever reason and he uses other people to do it."

"I'm sorry," Usopp whispered.

"Not your fault," Luffy said cheerfully, slinging an arm around Zoro's shoulders. Zoro glanced around nervously.

"Second question," Nami said, folding her arms. "Are you two following us? Or are you stowaways?"

"What?" they said together.

"We're in the middle of the ocean, and I'm pretty sure you two can't fly," Nami said, sweeping her arm widely to demonstrate. "How on _earth_ did you get on this ship?!"

An awkward pause, and then Luffy turned to Usopp.

"Can I see your bag for a second?" he said. Usopp nodded and offered him his satchel, which Luffy reached into and rummaged about for a moment.

"There we go," he said, taking out a pellet and handing the bag back to Usopp. He threw the thing to the ground and yelled, "NINJA VANISH!"

Thick smoke filled the air, and everyone coughed, eyes shut tight as Luffy and Zoro made their escape.

* * *

By the time the smoke cleared, Luffy and Zoro had returned in their ordinary outfits, and the others had recovered.

"Where the _hell_ did they go?!" Nami yelled. "They didn't answer my damn question!"

"I'll help look, Nami- _san_ ," Sanji exclaimed. "Also, my dear, would you like this fruit drink? I made it especially for you—"

Nami grabbed the drink and carried it with her as she headed into her room, Sanji close behind, to look for Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"Oh, Luffy, Zoro!" Chopper exclaimed. "Where were you guys?"

"I was there the whole time," Luffy mumbled.

"So was I," Zoro muttered.

Luffy glanced at him in surprise. "Really? I didn't see you."

"I didn't see _you!"_

Robin smiled. "Regardless . . . that was an interesting experience. Navigator- _san_ doesn't remember what happened, does she?"

"No, I don't think anyone does when stuff like that happens," Usopp said. He sighed. "But where _did_ Ladybug and Chat Noir go? I wanted to ask if they'd be willing to pose for sketches . . ."

"I thought you already had sketches of them," Chopper said in surprise.

"Yeah, but posing would be so much cooler—"

"I'm sure they have their own ways of getting places," Robin said, "even in the middle of the sea. It must be a hero thing."

"Oh, a hero thing," Chopper and Usopp said together, eyes shining in delight.

"That really was so cool, though!" Chopper added, grinning. "I hope we see them again!"

"Yeah, that would be great!" Usopp said happily.

"I'm going to get a snack," Zoro said abruptly.

"Me, too," Luffy said cheerfully. He and Zoro went to the kitchen, and he glanced up in surprise when Zoro snaked a hand around his waist, but shrugged and let it be.

* * *

That night, Luffy (on watch duty) leaned against the railing, staring up at the stars.

"It's a lovely night, isn't it?"

Luffy jumped and turned to see Robin strolling across the deck. She leaned against the railing next to him and smiled.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Sure, if you want," Luffy said, shrugging.

Robin watched the open sea before speaking up again.

"How long have you been Ladybug?"

"Not long," Luffy said absentmindedly. "Dunno exactly how long, I haven't been keeping track, but—"

He froze and slowly turned to stare at Robin, who smiled at him.

"I mean . . . what are you . . . talking about?" he said nervously, eyes darting around.

"You're so honest," Robin remarked. "I'm surprised you're able to keep it secret at all."

Luffy sighed. "You got me. How'd you figure it out?"

"I think the better question is how the others haven't figured it out," Robin murmured. "You weren't around during the fight, your voices are the same, your hair is the same, and you wear a ribbon in the same place . . ."

Luffy scratched at his choker and laughed. "Yeah, that's true!" His smile faded. "Can you please not tell anyone? It's already super-hard keeping it secret."

"Certainly."

"Thanks! Hey, does this mean you know who Chat is, too?"

"I do," Robin admitted, "but I won't tell him right away. I'm not sure he would appreciate it."

"Okay," Luffy said. He sighed. "I wanna ask who he is, but we both gotta keep it secret . . ."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Hm? Oh." Luffy sagged against the railing. "Something about being the chosen one? I didn't wanna do it, and I guess Chat didn't either, so we both agreed to do it for only six months. After that we're not gonna be Ladybug and Chat Noir anymore."

"I see," Robin murmured. "Being a hero is . . . so unlike either of you. I was curious."

"I know," Luffy groaned, flopping to the deck. "I don't like it. It's different when I'm helping my friends, but I don't wanna help jerks I don't even really know!"

Robin smiled. "I understand. If you don't mind, may I speak to your Kwami?"

"My salami?" Luffy said, standing up again. "What d'you mean?"

"She means me!"

Luffy looked up as Tikki flew out from his hat.

"You're a salami?!" he exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Kwami," Tikki corrected. "It's what I am!"

"Oh, so the mystery bug is a salami after all," Luffy murmured. "Anyway, yeah, you guys can talk, I don't care."

"I'll take over watch, if you like," Robin offered.

Luffy grinned. "Thanks! I'll be in bed!"

He bounced across the deck and through the trapdoor.

"What kind of questions do you have?" Tikki asked, turning to Robin.

Robin leaned against the railing. "I've seen a few Poneglyphs that mention heroes across time. I suppose Luffy isn't the first Ladybug?"

Tikki shook her head. "There have been many, but none as stubborn as him, I'll give him that . . ."

Robin smiled. "I see. I suppose this Tigermoth isn't always the villain?"

"No," Tikki said. "Tigermoth is taking advantage of another Kwami. He's using her for evil, and it's _wrong_ —but no one knows who or where he is, so we have to hold off his victims for now."

Robin nodded. "I suppose you know Chat Noir's identity, as well?"

"Of course," Tikki said firmly. "Plagg—his Kwami—is more or less my counterpart. He's very easy for me to detect. But it would be easier for Tigermoth to get his hands on the Miraculouses if their identities were revealed."

Robin looked over to see tears forming in Tikki's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"You're actually listening to me," Tikki whispered.

Robin smiled. "Well, yes. I'm interested in what you have to say."

Tikki stifled a sob.

* * *

 **Starting next week we'll be updating on Tuesdays!**

 **Also, I did art for Méchant Batter, Princess Paondemonium, and Tempêtress on my tumblr, as well as Ladybug and Chat! Ask me for link(s) if you're interested!**


	6. Your Best Nightmare

**"Renne" is French for "reindeer" and rhymes with the French word for reign, which is "règne."**

* * *

 _Grand Line Sea, shortly after Long Ring Long Land_

Zoro strolled into the kitchen, ignoring Sanji, and knelt down. Sanji straightened up from where he'd been examining a recipe and eyed him as he came up with a bottle of _sake_ , closing the cabinet door.

"Something up?" Sanji asked, shutting the book.

"Just thinking," Zoro muttered, opting to sit at the table. He popped off the cork and took a swig straight from the bottle.

"Penny for your thoughts, then?" Sanji said, bending down to the cabinet and straightening back up with a bottle of wine. He grabbed himself a glass and poured a small amount, leaning against the counter as he set the bottle down.

"I'll need more than that. Gotta pay off that debt somehow."

"I'm not paying more for something than what it's worth." A sip of wine. "So, spill?"

Zoro took another gulp of booze. Resting his chin on his hand, he glanced to the side as if embarrassed and muttered, "Do you think it's okay to love two people at the same time?"

"Of course it is," Sanji replied, setting his glass down. "What brought that up?"

No response.

"Oh, my god." Sanji grinned and took another sip. "So, Luffy and who else?"

"What?" Zoro exclaimed, head snapping up.

Sanji frowned. "What do you mean, 'What?'"

"How did you know—?"

"Did you think you were hiding it?" Sanji rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure the only one who doesn't know is Luffy."

Zoro put his head on the table. "Great."

"So, who's the other one?"

Zoro lifted his head as Sanji sipped his wine. "You."

The wine sprayed out in a fine mist.

"I was joking."

" _Oh_ , thank god," Sanji gasped, still doubled over. "You asshole—"

Zoro smirked and threw his head back with another swig of booze.

"Really, who's the other one?" Sanji repeated, recovering.

Zoro looked away, tapping his fingers on the table.

"Guess I'll just put this away," Sanji said, coming to the table and reaching for the _sake_. "I wonder if we have any locks I can use on the cabinet?"

"Ladybug."

Sanji hesitated. "What?"

"It's Ladybug," Zoro mumbled.

"What—? How?!" Sanji exclaimed, straightening up. "Since when have you even _seen_ him?!"

"I've watched all his fights," Zoro said. "Unlike _someone_ here."

"Shut the hell up," Sanji hissed. "Okay, so it's Ladybug. I see."

"Yeah."

"I thought he and Chat Noir were together?"

Zoro rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure I don't have to worry about that."

"Really?" Sanji said, grinning. "You aren't afraid Chat Noir will find out and kick your pansy-ass?"

"Not at all, as a matter of fact."

Sanji went back to the counter and grabbed his glass again, taking another sip. "If I were you, I'd give up on Ladybug. I'm not saying you can't love him, but with someone as cool as Chat Noir around, you've got no chance."

Zoro snorted into his next gulp of alcohol.

"Is that so?" he asked, wiping his mouth.

"You must've seen him fight," Sanji exclaimed. "He and Ladybug are _amazing,_ from what I've seen!"

"Which isn't much."

Sanji set his glass down again. "You looking to get your ass beat?"

* * *

". . . And when the poor girl turned around . . ." Usopp leaned forward, the flashlight under his chin casting odd shadows.

"What happened?" Luffy exclaimed, grinning. Chopper's eyes were wide with anticipation. Usopp had taken them into the dark storage room for a scary storytelling.

"Nothing was there," Usopp whispered. Chopper breathed a sigh of relief. "The path behind her was empty."

"Aw, nothing cool," Luffy muttered.

"Relieved, the girl turned around to go on her way, thinking she had imagined the noises," Usopp continued softly. His voice suddenly raised in volume as he exclaimed, "But then she came _face-to-face with a terrifying beast!"_

Chopper screamed and Luffy let out a shout of delight.

"The monster was twice her size and its skin was pale green . . ." Usopp leaned in, adjusting the flashlight. "It had a pointy nose, beady little eyes, and a mouthful of teeth so sharp they could cut through bone! A tufted tail stuck out the back, and its clawed hands dangled from long arms . . . its hair was black and stuck out in patches on its head . . . !"

Chopper covered his face with his hat, whimpering.

"It grinned at the girl, who froze with fear!" Usopp exclaimed. "She asked, 'What are you?' and the creature replied, 'I am a monster with no name . . .' And then, grinning, it—"

"Usopp, this is really scary," Chopper whimpered, face still covered.

"No, it's cool," Luffy corrected.

Usopp grinned and leaned in close to Chopper. " _Boo!"_

Chopper screamed, lifted his hat, and screamed again when he saw Usopp's face so close to his own. He fell backwards, covering his eyes.

"Aw, it's not _that_ scary," Luffy said, frowning. "Right? Chopper?"

"I'm not scared," Chopper protested.

"What if the monster was in this room?" Usopp asked.

"It's not real!" Chopper exclaimed.

"Oh, it's real," Usopp whispered. "In fact, it's right . . . HERE!"

He seized Chopper's shoulders as he yelled and Chopper screamed again.

"Gotcha!" Usopp exclaimed, laughing. But his laughter faded when Chopper sat up. "Are you crying?"

Chopper stood and ran for the door.

"Wait, Chopper, I'm sor—"

The door slammed shut behind him, leaving Usopp and Luffy in the storage room with only the flashlight to see by.

"Aw, crap," Usopp muttered.

"Let's go find him," Luffy said, standing.

"Yeah," Usopp said. Luffy helped him up. "I didn't mean to go too far . . . I didn't think—"

Luffy shrugged. "He'll be fine. Maybe we can get Sanji to make cotton candy!"

"Good idea!" Usopp exclaimed. "Let's go!"

* * *

Chopper fled to the men's room, throwing himself facedown onto the couch, hugging the cushions and shaking with sobs. He rolled over so he lay on his back and stared at the ceiling.

It wasn't fair. Why was he so easily scared from a story like that? Why hadn't Luffy been scared, or Usopp of his own story? And the others were never scared of anything. Even when Usopp was fighting someone, he would rise to the challenge and defeat his opponent.

Something in his watery vision flickered.

"Huh?" he whispered, just before the dark moth alighted upon his hat.

He sat up, expression darkening as his hat began to glow an evil violet. A voice murmured to him . . .

" _Renne of Terror, listen to me. I am your friend. My name is Tigermoth. I will give you the power to bring justice to your fear, and in return, you must take the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Do we have a deal?"_

Chopper nodded, blinking back tears.

* * *

Sanji and Zoro looked up from their bickering as Luffy and Usopp tumbled into the kitchen.

"Hey, Sanji!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Oh, were you guys talking?" Luffy asked, looking between Sanji and Zoro. "Well, anyway, Sanji, can you make cotton candy?"

Sanji straightened up. "Sure. Any special occasion?"

"Well, uh, it's for Chopper," Usopp explained. "I kinda went too far with a scary story and he ran away, so we thought—"

"It's for Chopper, yeah, but if you have any left over, that would be _really cool,"_ Luffy said, grinning.

"Got it." Sanji went to the counter, but before he could even get out the sugar, the room was abruptly thrown into darkness.

"What the—?"  
"What happened?!"  
"Luffy? Are you there?"  
"I'm here—guys? Where are you?"

The door was flung open and everyone stumbled, half-blind, out to the deck. It was as if the sun had just set; there was only enough light to barely see where they were going. The ship appeared shrouded in darkness, despite it being midday.

"Guys?" came a voice.

"Nami- _san_? Are you alright?"

"We're fine," came Robin's voice. "What's going on?"

"Dunno," Zoro said, jumping down to the deck below and stumbling. "The lights suddenly went out—it's way too early for sunset, isn't it?"

"This isn't natural," Nami agreed as the thumps of Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji leaping down came. "Are we all here? Roll call!"

One by one, everyone announced their presence. A moment of silence followed.

"Where's Chopper?" Usopp whispered.

"Oh, no, he must be so scared," Nami murmured. "Zoro, go find him."

"Yeah, okay—"

A pause.

"Did you hear that?"

"Who's walking around?"

"None of us are moving . . ."

The sound of heavy breathing made everyone look around—and they froze when they saw the source.

The monster was the most visible thing in the darkness, as if a spotlight shone upon it. Its skin was slimy green, its nose pointed, its eyes beady, and its mouth a grinning cavern of pointed teeth. Dark, tufted fur stuck out under a violet, pointed hat, and a similarly tufted tail stuck out behind it under its cloak. Lanky arms dangled in the front, clawed fingers barely brushing the deck, and bowlegs displayed oddly elongated feet.

Nami and Usopp shrieked, Nami clinging to Robin and Usopp to Sanji. Nami fled into the darkness of the ship, dragging Robin with her (though Robin looked very much like she wanted to examine the creature), while Usopp ran a different direction, Sanji close behind.

Their screams echoed throughout the ship, and the monster nearly doubled in size, looming over Luffy and Zoro with a wicked grin.

"Think it's friendly?" Luffy whispered.

"Not really."

Luffy frowned when he heard a whisper in his ear. "Uh-oh. Zoro, I'll see you later!"

"Wait—"

But Luffy was already gone. Feeling movement in his _haramaki_ , Zoro narrowed his eyes, glanced up at the monster, and ran.

The monster faded from sight.

* * *

"An akuma?" Luffy exclaimed as Tikki flew out, her figure illuminated. "But then—it must be—that couldn't be Chopper?"

Before she could say a word, Luffy clenched his hand. "Tikki, transform me."

* * *

Transformed, Zoro found his sight was nearly ten times better with his catlike eyes. He glanced around.

"Hopefully Ladybug's coming soon," he muttered. "Gotta go find the others, too . . ."

He leapt down from the mast, looked around, and headed into the kitchen.

* * *

"Are you there, Sanji- _kun_?!"

"Usopp, whose arm do you think you've been holding?!"

"Oh, right."

Usopp and Sanji had ended up in the men's quarters, which was as dark as the rest of the ship. They could barely make out each other.

"What's even going on?" Usopp whispered, letting go of Sanji at last and shivering. Raising his voice, he called, "Chopper? Are you in here? It's okay, you can come out! Me and Sanji are here! We'll stick with you!"

No response.

"He must've gotten into another part of the ship," Sanji muttered. "Let's get out and find him. He's probably terrified."

But when they turned around to look for the ladder, they found the monster in their path, ever-smiling. Sanji hid a flinch and Usopp yelped.

"That thing's bigger than before," Sanji muttered. He took on a fighting stance. "Okay, you— _thing_ , show me what you've got."

The monster cackled softly and raised a clawed hand ever-so-slightly towards Sanji, who tensed—and then screamed.

"Sanji—?!"

Usopp turned to him and his eyes widened when he saw what must have been hundreds of insects and spiders of all sizes squirming and crawling all over Sanji, his figure and his attackers now oddly visible.

"Get them _off_ , get them OFF!" Sanji screamed, swatting, but the bugs persisted. Several crawled underneath his shirt, and when one crawled up his nose and one into his mouth, this was the last straw: Sanji's eyes rolled up and he fainted dead away.

"Oh god, _Sanji,"_ Usopp cried, kneeling. He was shocked to see the bugs vanish before his eyes, and when he looked up again, he stumbled backwards with a yell, for the monster had grown twice in size again, towering over him.

Usopp narrowed his eyes, a moment of clarity shining through his fear.

"Green skin," he whispered. "Pointy nose, tiny eyes, sharp teeth, tufted hair and tail—you're the monster from my story!"

The monster lifted a clawed hand.

"But how?"

Usopp narrowed his eyes, and finally spotted the purple hat.

"No," he whispered. " _Chopper?"_

A moment later, his screams filled the room.

* * *

"What _was_ that?" Nami whimpered. She and Robin had escaped to the women's quarters, albeit with a few bumps from missing some steps on the staircase.

"Navigator- _san_ , would you mind if I went up to look?" Robin asked, touching her shoulder.

"I'm coming with you! Don't leave me!"

"If you insist."

Nami clung to Robin's shoulders and they cautiously made their way to the stairs.

"Ow—"  
"Stupid steps—"

* * *

Zoro burst out of the kitchen and looked around for the source of the screams.

"That was the cook and Usopp," he muttered. "Where'd they go?"

He took a chance and ran for the storage room across the way, heading inside.

"Not here," he muttered, looking around.

The door shut behind him.

* * *

"What was that?!" Nami exclaimed in a high-pitched whisper at the movement that was Zoro.

No response.

"Robin?! Are you there?!"

"You're still holding onto my arm," Robin pointed out.

"Oh. Oh, right."

Someone else ran past them and Nami gasped, releasing Robin's arm to stumble backwards. A door shut, and then another one.

"What's going on?" Nami whispered.

"I don't know." Robin looked around, struggling to make things out in the darkness. "We still need to find Doctor- _san_ and the others."

She glanced around and heard something.

"Will you wait here for a moment?" she murmured. "Just sit and stay put. I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay, but hurry up," Nami whispered, sitting and scooting backwards until she leaned against the railing. Robin moved forward slowly in the darkness, taking care not to trip.

* * *

"Did I just run past someone?" Luffy muttered, looking up. "Oh, well."

He'd found his way down to the men's quarters, and he now looked around.

"Anyone here?" he called softly. "Zoro? Usopp? Nami? Robin? Sanji? Chopper?"

No response. Luffy began making his way around the room, shuffling his feet, and let out a shout of surprise when he tripped over something soft.

"What the heck was that?" he muttered.

* * *

Zoro whipped around as the door shut and found himself facing the monster that was Chopper, now so big he had to hunch to fit in the room, leering over Zoro.

"You're Chopper," Zoro said slowly. "Aren't you?"

A clawed hand rose up.

"The akuma must be in your hat." Zoro took out his staff. "Hold still, okay?"

"Zoro . . ."

Zoro tensed and turned around. His eyes widened and his staff clattered to the ground.

Luffy stood in front of him, oddly visible in the darkness, expression unreadable and covered in blood. It dripped from wounds decorating his limbs and face, trickled from a slit in his neck under his choker, and pooled onto his shirt in large splotches from his torso.

And then, next to him, there was Ladybug—looking so much like Luffy in that moment, Zoro dimly noted, and in a similar condition. His suit was torn, his hands and feet bloody, red trickling from his mouth and from just under his ribbon.

"Chat," he whispered.

Luffy sank to his knees with a small smile. "Why . . . weren't you there?"

"You didn't . . . make it in time," Ladybug whispered, holding his stomach as if in great pain.

"What?" Zoro said dumbly. "You . . . Luffy—Ladybug—this is—"

He clutched his head, breath becoming faster, and he reached out to both of them, one hand to Luffy, the other to Ladybug—they reached out to him, too, but their hands faltered at the last second, dropping limply—

"You . . . you can't—this can't be happening," he whispered. "I can't lose you—I can't lose either of you!"

He bowed his head.

"Useless . . ."

A flinch when the door behind him opened again.

"Don't move—"

A pause, and then a sigh.

"He's gone."

A hand touched his shoulder.

"Swordsman- _san?"_

Zoro frowned. "Robin? You're—"

"I spied inside," Robin admitted as her eyes on the wall vanished. "Since you're like this, and Doctor- _san_ is missing . . . he's the monster, isn't he?"

"He is, but—Luffy and Ladybug, they're—"

"Look up."

Zoro steeled himself and raised his head. His eyes widened when he realized Luffy and Ladybug had vanished.

"An illusion?" he exclaimed. "I fell for—damn it!"

"That must be Doctor- _san_ 's current ability," Robin murmured, helping Zoro stand. He seized his staff. "To show someone something they're afraid of . . . he was about to take your Miraculous when I came in, but now he's gone."

"Something they're afraid of," Zoro repeated. "Luffy and Usopp said . . . so _that's_ why he was akumatized."

"Luffy's safe," Robin added. "And I think I heard Ladybug going to the men's quarters."

"We've gotta meet up," Zoro muttered. He headed for the door, but then paused and turned back.

"You didn't call me Chat Noir."

Robin shrugged. "What can I say? I won't tell the others, if that's what you're worried about."

Zoro sighed. "Well, whatever, I guess I don't care. Thanks, Robin."

"I'll stay with Navigator- _san_ on the deck," Robin said as Zoro left.

* * *

Luffy felt around the ground until his hand hit something soft with something sticking straight up from it.

"Usopp?!" he exclaimed. He found Usopp's shoulders and shook them. "Hey, get up!"

He made out another shape near Usopp and felt around.

"Must be Sanji," he muttered. "Sanji, are you okay? Guys? Wake up!"

He heard something behind him and turned around to see Chopper in his monstrous form, taking up quite a lot of the room with how big he was now.

"Chopper," he murmured, standing and facing him. "Hey. I'm sorry about making you scared."

Chopper raised a clawed hand.

"You're pretty big right now, but if you hold still . . ." Luffy took out his medallion. "I'll save you. Okay?"

"Cataclysm!"

Luffy dodged the swing just in time, stumbling, and turned to see Chat Noir, strangely visible.

"Chat, you're here!" he exclaimed, grinning. "Be more careful where you're aiming, okay?"

"Yeah," Chat Noir said with a sneer. "This time I won't _miss!"_

He flexed his hand again and swiped at Luffy, who dodged again.

"What the heck, Chat?!" Luffy exclaimed indignantly. "I'm not your enemy, geez!"

"It's not like you're my _friend_ ," Chat Noir replied. "And that doesn't leave many options, does it?"

Luffy hesitated. "What?"

"Oh, do I have to spell it out for you?" Chat Noir hissed in exasperation. "I. _Hate._ You. Is that clear enough to get through your thick skull?"

Luffy stared at him and let out a nervous laugh. "Chat . . . come on, that's not funny!"

"I'm dead serious." Chat Noir rolled his eyes. "You know what _is_ funny? You entertaining some notion I actually _like_ you. I wish you'd just disappear from the world!"

"Just die already," came a voice, and Luffy looked around to see Zoro suddenly approaching, swords out (he dimly noted Zoro's expression was very similar to Chat Noir's in that moment).

"Luffy," Zoro said clearly, "you don't really think I like being on the same ship as you?"

"Zoro?" Luffy exclaimed.

"It's agony." Zoro readied his swords. "I would rather die than sail the seas with _you_. But I think I'll take the next best option . . . killing you myself."

"We can do it together," Chat Noir said, flexing his hands.

"A mutual hatred?" Zoro said. "Perfect."

Luffy backed up a step. "Zoro? Chat?"

"Why are you still here?" Chat Noir hissed.

"Just looking at you makes me ill," Zoro snarled.

He raised his swords, and Chat Noir raised his hand—

" _Ladybug!"_

Luffy had covered his face, and so he didn't see the person who leapt down the ladder, startling Chopper into vanishing away again just before he could take Luffy's Miraculous.

"Ladybug?"

Luffy's shoulders shook with sobs.

"What did he show you?"

"What?" Luffy whispered.

"Look at me."

Luffy uncovered his face and looked around, shaking. The Chat Noir and Zoro who had tried to attack him were gone, and in front of him, he could just make out the concerned face of his real partner.

"The monster . . . Chopper," Zoro corrected himself, "he makes illusions. Something you're afraid of. You must've seen one."

Luffy stared at him, processing his words.

"It wasn't real?"

Zoro shook his head.

"You don't . . . Kitty . . . you don't hate me?"

Zoro's eyes widened and he leaned forward, embracing Luffy in strong arms.

"I couldn't ever hate you," he whispered.

Luffy clung to him, openly crying now.

"Really? Never?"

"Never ever."

They soon released each other, Luffy gathering himself, and stood.

"Where is Zoro, anyway?" he asked. "And can you see in the dark?"

"Zoro's safe," Zoro replied. "And yes."

"That is _so_ cool," Luffy whispered. "We need to get everyone together. Where are Nami and Robin?"

"On deck. Let's get these two up." Zoro nudged Usopp and Sanji.

"Right. Can you get Zoro once we're up there?"

Zoro hesitated. "He said he needed to be left alone for . . . some reason."

"Oh, okay."

* * *

"Who's there?" Nami whispered warily at the movement on deck.

Two thumps came directly in front of her.

"What was that?!"

"Gimme a sec—"

There was a rustling, and then a click. Zoro had grabbed the lighter from Sanji's jacket.

"Oh, thank goodness," Nami said in relief, the flame providing just enough light to see by. "I'm here . . . there's Usopp, Sanji- _kun_ , Robin, Ladybug, and Chat Noir."

A pause.

"Wait—Usopp?! Sanji- _kun_?! What happened?!" Nami cried. She looked between Luffy and Zoro. "And you two! Again! How did you get here?! And does anyone know where Luffy and Zoro went?!"

"Zoro's safe and wants to be left alone, I guess," Luffy said.

"I think Luffy got lost," Robin said. Luffy gave her a look, but let it go.

Zoro updated Nami on the situation with Chopper while Luffy slapped Usopp and Sanji repeatedly.

"That monster is _Chopper?"_ Nami whispered in shock as Usopp and Sanji began to stir, still being slapped by Luffy. "But—why?"

"Ow, ow, _ow!"_ Usopp exclaimed, sitting up at last. "Who the hell—? Hey! Ladybug? Chat Noir?"

"You're up," Luffy said cheerfully.

Usopp's eyes widened as Sanji sat up. "Oh, yeah—shoot, Ladybug, I'm sorry, I passed out—that monster, it's—"

"Chopper, we know," Zoro said as Sanji got his bearings.

"Chat Noir? Ladybug?" he murmured. "What—?"

"You're up, too!" Luffy said in delight. "Okay, so basically, Chopper's been akumatized, and it's probably in his hat. But he's really big now, so getting it is gonna be hard."

Usopp raised a hand. "I think I know how to help . . ."

Luffy and Zoro looked at him expectantly.

"Well, see . . . when the monst—when Chopper made Sanji scream and faint . . ."

"Shut up," Sanji hissed.

"It happened to me, too! Anyway, when that happened, he got bigger. So . . . I think he gets bigger based on how scared we are."

"That makes sense, considering how it happened," Zoro muttered. "Uh—I ran into Zoro earlier. He told me about it."

"Right," Usopp mumbled.

Luffy stood, cracking his knuckles. "This all happened because Chopper was scared," he said, helping Nami and Usopp stand, while Zoro helped up Sanji (who was quite happy to take his hand, though this was not reciprocated) and Robin. "What would happen if we made him less scared, and showed him we're not scared, either?"

"Do you think that would help?" Nami said skeptically.

"Worth a shot," Sanji said with a shrug, looking to Luffy for approval.

"Okay, then."

And when the group turned around, there was Chopper, more monstrous in size than ever, grinning toothily. Usopp and Nami screamed, and he grew another foot before their eyes.

"Keep calm," Zoro said, holding out an arm. "Hey, blondie, take this back."

He handed the lighter back to Sanji, who kept it close for everyone to see by.

"Lucky Charm!" Luffy exclaimed, throwing his medallion into the air. He caught the object carefully.

"A book?" Robin murmured.

"Is now really the time to learn?" Zoro muttered.

Luffy opened it up and skimmed the first few words.

"Usopp," he said, handing him the book, "this is all up to you."

"Uh—" Usopp opened the book and skimmed a few words. "Oh! Sanji, can you help? I need light—"

Sanji held the lighter near the book. He and Usopp stepped forward, close to Chopper.

Usopp took a deep breath. Chopper raised a clawed hand.

"'Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a beautiful princess.'"

Chopper hesitated. Usopp offered him a smile and continued, his voice growing stronger.

"'Though this princess had many a suitor lining up to ask for her hand, she was famous for turning down each one. Some she hardly even looked at before she sent him on his way.'"

Chopper shrank before their eyes, losing what he had gained from just moments ago, and then from Luffy.

"It's working," Sanji whispered.

Usopp took a deep breath. "'The princess's parents wished for her to marry, but she refused to discuss the matter, for she was as stubborn and hotheaded as she was brave and beautiful. One day, yet another man came to the castle door . . . but this man did not seek to wed the princess. Instead, he had a message of grave importance.'"

As Usopp continued the story, Chopper gradually shrank down before their eyes. By the time he'd finished the first two pages, Chopper was as small as he usually was.

"That's good," Luffy said.

Usopp paused and looked up. Luffy came forward to Chopper and gently plucked the hat off of his head.

"Sorry," he murmured, tearing it in two. The moth fluttered out and he caught it in his medallion, soon releasing it, pure again.

He took the book from Usopp and threw it high in the air. Instantly, the sunlight returned to the ship, and everyone blinked in surprise. Chopper's hat was repaired, and he himself lay on the deck, eyes closed.

Chopper sat up, blinking.

"What's going on?" he murmured. "How'd I get here?"

Luffy knelt and handed him his hat. "Are you okay?"

"Ladybug?!" Chopper exclaimed, grinning as he put his hat back on. "And Chat Noir! What're you guys doing here? Did something bad happen?"

"Are you okay?" Usopp said, kneeling and picking Chopper up in a hug. "I'm so sorry for scaring you, I didn't mean it!"

"Huh—?" Chopper hugged Usopp in return. "It's okay! It was really silly to get scared in the first place!"

He soon pulled back.

"What happened?" he asked, looking around as Sanji put away his lighter. "Ladybug? Chat Noir? I thought you guys only showed up when someone was . . . what was the word? When they turn bad."

Silence. The others exchanged awkward looks.

Chopper's eyes widened in sudden understanding. "Wait—did I—? Was I—?"

"Yeah," Zoro said at last. "Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal."

Chopper's eyes watered. "Did I . . . did I cause trouble . . . ?"

"You know what?" Sanji said at last. "Why don't we go inside and talk about this over some sweets?"

"Okay!" Chopper said with a little grin.

Sanji headed for the kitchen, and the others began following, but then Nami paused and turned around.

"Wait a minute!" she called. "Ladybug! Chat Noir! I'm not letting you two get away!"

Luffy and Zoro turned around and ran for different parts of the ship. Nami made to go after them, but found herself immobilized.

"Robin!" she exclaimed indignantly, struggling to get out of the phantom hands.

Robin smiled, leaning against the wall. "Heroes don't need to reveal their secrets."

Nami groaned in frustration. "Fine. Whatever. Can you go look for Luffy and Zoro?"

"Certainly."

Robin released Nami, who stomped into the kitchen. She waited until the door was shut to find their missing crewmates.

* * *

" _There_ you guys are," Sanji said in exasperation as Robin led Luffy and Zoro into the kitchen. She had caught Zoro just after he'd transformed back, and they'd found Luffy on their way back to the kitchen. "Robin- _chan_ , would you like some cotton candy?"

"If it's not too much trouble, may I have a cup of coffee instead?" Robin asked, sitting at the table with Luffy, Zoro, and the others.

"Coming right up!"

"Hey," Nami said to Luffy and Zoro, still irritated from earlier. "Chopper, go on?"

"Right," Chopper said. "The last thing I remember . . . I was kinda upset from the scary story, and then I . . . I started thinking about how everyone else here is . . ."

He reached for some cotton candy on the plate in the middle of the table.

"How you guys aren't scared of anything, you're all really brave, and I got scared over a story," he finished, staring at the table. "That's it."

"Not scared of—? Chopper, I don't like admitting it, but I'm scared of _everything_ ," Usopp exclaimed.

"What?" Chopper cried, looking up. "Really?"

"I get scared by my own shadow on a bad day," Usopp admitted. "I almost pee my pants every time I have to fight really strong guys!"

"But—but you're so _brave_ ," Chopper exclaimed, confused.

Usopp shrugged. "I dunno about that, really."

"Chopper, it's natural to be scared in a fight," Nami said. She shot a glance at Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji. "Unless you're _those three_ , that is."

"Bravery isn't the absence of fear," Robin stated. "It's doing something in spite of fear."

Luffy grinned. "Besides, it's okay to get scared from a story!"

"Sometimes the made-up things are scarier than the real things," Zoro added.

Chopper nodded. "Okay," he said. "I think I get it!"

"But I did go overboard," Usopp added. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Chopper said with determination. "Because . . . this means I'm really brave, just like you guys!"

"Now you get it," Sanji said with a smile, bringing more cotton candy and Robin's coffee to the table. "Hey, any dinner requests? I should get started soon."

Everyone began shouting at once, leading Sanji to announce in annoyance that _he_ would be deciding dinner. Soon enough, the crew split up from the table; Usopp took Chopper to the stern to tell him a happy story in the sunlight, the girls went to their room to rest, Sanji remained in the kitchen, and Luffy wandered to the bow, draping himself over the railing.

"Hey."

Luffy turned around and saw Zoro approaching. He leaned on the railing next to him.

"Zoro," he said, smiling.

Zoro looked at Luffy. "Did that . . . did Chopper show you something, too?"

Luffy's smile faded and he nodded. "I know now it wasn't real," he said. "But . . . it was . . ."

He suddenly seized Zoro in a tight hug.

"Zoro," he mumbled into his shoulder, "don't ever leave me, okay?"

Zoro brought his arms around, one hand on the back of Luffy's head, the other around his waist.

"It's a promise."


	7. Battle Against a True Hero

**Méchant in this case means "wicked" or "bad," etc. The full name is a pun on "papier-mâché."**

* * *

 _Rocketman_

"I don't know who he thinks he's fooling, really," Nami said under her breath.

"Who, Sogeking?" Zoro muttered, glancing over to her while Luffy and Chopper interrogated Sogeking about Sniper Island.

"Other than those two," Nami amended. "That nose gives everything away, even if the rest of his face is covered. Honestly . . ."

"Yeah, he's pretty obvious. You'd have to be observant as . . . something that's _not_ observant to not see through that poor disguise. Especially since we see him every day."

Nami rolled her eyes. "Great comparison."

"Shut up."

"Sogeking," Chopper exclaimed. "Since you're a hero . . . do you know Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

"Why, yes!" Sogeking exclaimed. "In fact, we're good friends!"

"I guess that's _kinda_ true," Sanji muttered.

"That's so cool!" Luffy exclaimed. He paused. "Wait a second—"

"In _any_ case," Zoro interrupted, "let's focus on what our next move is."

* * *

 _Grand Line Sea_

The Thousand Sunny sailed under beautiful weather on the open sea. Luffy lay on the figurehead, gazing out to sea. Zoro napped against the main mast, his training done for now, and Franky was in his workshop, figuring out how to get his new invention to work. A ways away, Usopp was finishing up a drawing in his sketchbook, sticking the end of the pencil between his lips in concentration. Sanji and Chopper were in the kitchen, Chopper helping Sanji clean up after lunch, while Robin and Nami rested in their room.

Luffy's eyes travelled to the side as Tikki floated down and rested on the bow next to him.

"The sea is beautiful," she murmured.

Luffy grinned. "It sure is."

"You know . . . you're a really interesting person, Luffy."

"Am I?"

A nod. "Of all the people I've teamed up with, I've never met someone as stubborn and hard-headed as you."

Luffy laughed. "What a weird way to compliment someone!"

"And you're so . . . devoted to your crew," Tikki continued. "To think you would do all those things for the sake of a friend . . ."

"Well, sure," Luffy said matter-of-factly. "I don't get why someone wouldn't if they can."

"Not everyone is as brave as you."

"Robin once said . . ." Luffy looked up in thought. "Something like, 'Bravery isn't being not afraid, it's doing things even though you're afraid.' I'm not afraid, so I'm not brave, I'm . . . what would that be?"

"Stupid?"

Another laugh. "Maybe you're right!"

On the lawn deck, Zoro was awoken by an insistent tapping of his ear. He swatted his hand lazily.

" _Hey."_

He opened his eyes and found Plagg floating in front of his face.

"What d'you want?" he muttered.

"Cheese. I'm hungry."

"Go get it yourself."

"If you get it for me, we can split it," Plagg wheedled.

"I don't feel like having cheese. Also, why are you out in the open? Usopp's right over there."

"Zoro?" Usopp said, looking up from his sketchbook distractedly. "Who're you talking to?"

"Just thinking out loud," Zoro said as Plagg flew off to get his cheese.

Usopp squinted at the small, flying shape. "That's a big bug," he muttered. He looked back down at his art, erased something, and grinned.

"See you later, Zoro," he exclaimed, jumping up. "I gotta go show this to Franky!"

He hurried to the door and shut it behind him, jumping down the stairs. He found Franky bent over the workbench, scratching his head over his project.

"Hey, Franky!" Usopp approached him, holding up his sketchbook with a grin. "Can you look at this? I think it'll help with—"

"Not now, Bro." Franky didn't look up as he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm busy. Can it wait?"

Usopp hesitated. "Well, yes, but—here, just look at this, I think it'll help—"

"Bro, I don't care, I'm _busy_."

Usopp gently shoved his sketchbook in front of Franky, pointing to the drawing. "Just look! If you do this, and—"

"What part of _busy_ don't you get?!" Franky snapped, throwing out an arm and accidentally knocking the book to the floor. "Now's not the time to look at a stupid drawing!"

Usopp stepped back, glancing to his sketchbook. He turned back to Franky with wide eyes.

"But I . . ." he whispered. "I worked hard on i—"

He bit his lip, bent down to grab his book, and hurried back outside, slamming the door behind him. Franky looked up in surprise at the sudden noise.

"Oh," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "I guess that was a little harsh . . ."

* * *

"We're done here," Sanji announced as Chopper put away the last dish. "Thanks, Chopper. You were a big help."

Chopper grinned. "I was _not!_ Don't you compliment me! You know I hate that!"

"Right, right. Go play outside."

Chopper trotted out the door, something like a large bug flying past him, and jumped down to the deck just as Usopp emerged from below deck.

"Hey, Usopp!" he exclaimed, grinning. "Do you wanna—?"

Usopp slammed the door, ignoring Chopper, and hurried into the men's quarters across the grass, shutting this one behind him.

"Zoro?" Chopper said, turning to him with worried eyes. "Is Usopp okay?"

Zoro shrugged, eyeing the door. "I heard a shout downstairs. Maybe he and Franky had an argument."

"Oh. Should I go talk to him?"

Zoro hesitated. "Normally I'd say leave him be, but . . ." He looked to the sky. "I think talking would be better in this case."

Chopper nodded and trotted to the door, knocking softly.

* * *

Usopp sat on the edge of his bed, clutching his pencil and sketchbook to his chest.

Wasn't he _good_ at art? Wasn't it one of the only things he could truly say he was proud of, and could back up? Who was Franky to take that away from him?

In his distress, he didn't see the little dark moth land upon the end of his pencil.

He froze, staring ahead darkly as a voice in his head murmured to him . . .

" _Paper-Méchant, the greatest artist in the world does not deserve such injustice, don't you agree? My name is Tigermoth, and if you agree to take the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir, I will grant you the power to show your true talent to the one who has hurt you."_

Usopp nodded. "It's a deal."

* * *

"Usopp?" Chopper called, knocking again. "Okay, I'm coming in . . ."

He pushed open the door, shutting it gently behind him.

"Um . . . do you wanna talk?" he asked, shifting where he stood. "I just—"

He paused, noticing Usopp at last. Usopp faced away from him. The sketchbook he held now had a goldenrod cover and the pencil a shimmering purple. Usopp himself was dressed in a full-body suit of cream color, decorated with greenish squiggles and brown rings around his wrists, ankles, neck, and hips. His hair had turned a dark mossy green, a cream-colored beret upon it, and when he turned around, Chopper saw that his lips were coated in green and his eyes surrounded by light brown rings like a raccoon or a tanuki.

"Usopp?!" he exclaimed. "Is that _you?"_

Usopp grinned. "Don't call me that," he said, folding his arms. "Call me Paper-Méchant from now on!"

"I—Usopp, are you—?"

"Let's talk later," Usopp said abruptly, striding past Chopper. "I need to take care of something."

Chopper turned and followed him as he went out the door. "Wait!"

Usopp ignored him, heading straight across the grass. Zoro noticed and stood.

"Usopp?" he said. Usopp ignored him and opened up the door, entering and shutting it behind him.

"Wait, Usopp!" Chopper exclaimed, running to the door. But when he tried to open it, he found it locked.

"This isn't good," Zoro muttered, jiggling the handle. "This door doesn't lock. He must've done something."

"Usopp!" Chopper cried, pounding on the door. "Open up!"

"Something wrong?"

They looked up to see Sanji leaning over the railing.

"Usopp's been—" Chopper hesitated. "I don't know the word—"

"Akumatized," Zoro supplied. "Chopper, what happened in there?"

"I went in to talk to him, but he was dressed like _that,_ " Chopper exclaimed. "He said to call him Paper-Mache, or something like that, and then he went in here—and Franky's down there, he's probably in trouble!"

A yell made him fall silent.

* * *

Franky looked up as the door clicked shut and Usopp came down the stairs.

"Hey, Bro," he said, straightening up. "Sorry for snapping earlier, that was—"

He paused, taking in Usopp's appearance.

"Bro?" he said. "What's up with that outfit?"

Usopp sneered, holding up his sketchbook. "I'm not your _bro_. I am Paper-Méchant. Prepare to face my wrath, you fool!"

Franky folded his arms. "I said sorry, didn't I? And I'm not really in the mood for theater. No offense."

He glanced up, hearing the handle jiggling. He spotted a lock, sprung out of nowhere, keeping the door shut tight.

"Hey," he said sternly. "What the hell is going on?"

"Enough chatter!" Usopp declared, putting his pencil to paper. "Sketch!"

He scribbled on the page, and as he did so, something began forming in the air.

"What the heck?" Franky muttered, backing up a step.

The now fully-formed (and mysteriously colored) steel chains sprang forward at a gesture from Usopp. Franky, caught by surprise, was trapped in them and sent tumbling to the ground.

"Since when did you have that ability?!" he exclaimed, failing to escape his bonds. "And what's with that getup?!"

Usopp pinned him to the floor with a foot on his chest. He grinned and knelt, prying open Franky's stomach fridge and removing the cola bottles.

"Hey!" Franky exclaimed, but Usopp threw them against the wall, where they smashed into bits. Franky's struggles grew weak and his hair drooped.

"You bastard," he hissed, head falling back against the floor. "What is _wrong_ with you?!"

"Nothing's wrong and everything's right," Usopp said in a sing-song voice. He brought up his sketchbook again. "Time to finish you off! Sketch!"

He stepped off, flipped Franky over with his foot, and began drawing. Several boulders formed in the air above Franky.

"Uh-oh," he muttered, and yelled out in pain when they came flying down, burying him on the floor.

* * *

"Don't break down the door!" Sanji protested as Zoro raised his swords. "Franky's gonna get pissed, you know!"

"Look, when this shit happened to Nami, she might've killed Usopp if she hadn't been stopped in time," Zoro snapped. "We don't even know what his ability is, and—"

"What are you all yelling about?" Nami called from the upper deck, the door to the women's quarters open. "Can't we get some peace for _one_ day?"

"It's an emergency!" Chopper exclaimed, waving his arms. "Usopp's akumatized!"

"What?!" Nami exclaimed. "Robin, get out here!"

Robin came out a moment later, following Nami to the deck.

"Okay," Nami said. "Now, what's—?"

She paused and the others whipped around as the door opened. There stood Usopp, wearing a pleased grin.

"Hey, guys," he said cheerfully.

"What did you do?" Sanji demanded.

"I delivered justice." Usopp walked right past them and sat against the mast.

"Damn it, where _is_ that shit fairy at a time like this?" Zoro muttered, glancing around.

"Fairy?" Chopper repeated.

Nami looked at Sanji.

"Just talking to myself—Usopp, what the hell happened?" Zoro said sternly.

"I told you," Usopp said with a grin. "I delivered justice. He shouldn't have made fun of me."

"Chopper, let's go check on him," Nami exclaimed. Chopper nodded and they ran for the door.

Luffy came down to the deck at last. "Are we having a party?"

"Hey, Luffy," Usopp said.

Luffy paused and stared at him. "Usopp? You're . . ."

"Akumatized," Robin said.

"Call me Paper-Méchant! I won't say it again!"

"Aw, man," Luffy muttered. "Wait, why is he just sitting there?"

"I'm right here," Usopp snapped.

Nami and Chopper came out the door again, agitated.

"He's been buried by rocks," Nami exclaimed. "We can't move them, they're too heavy—"

"Who's been buried?" Luffy demanded. "Franky?"

Chopper nodded. "Usopp did something, I don't know—"

"You gonna attack or what, Paper?" Sanji demanded. "Talk about a useless villain."

Usopp rolled his eyes and waved a hand. "Why would I do that? You guys are my friends. I've got nothing against you. I'm just waiting for Ladybug and Chat Noir to show up."

"And why is that?" Robin asked, glancing to Luffy and Zoro.

Usopp grinned. "The deal was I take care of Franky, and in return . . . I take the Miraculouses. It'll be easy once they actually get here!"

"And if they don't show up?" Zoro said, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, they're bound to show up sooner or later," Usopp said lazily. "In the meantime, I'll just hang out here until they do."

Zoro turned and went for the door, but Usopp opened up his sketchbook and drew something. With a wave of his hand, another lock flew to the door, and Zoro found it immovable.

"He got what he deserved," Usopp said coldly. "Don't go trying to help him."

He glanced to Chopper and grinned. "Hey, you wanna play a game? I can make anything! What do you wanna do?"

Chopper hid behind Robin.

"Aw, don't be scared," Usopp said as if hurt. "Watch this!"

He held up his sketchbook, and everyone tensed, but what appeared before him was only a bottle about the size of his forearm. He unscrewed the lid and blew through the hoop wand, causing large, iridescent bubbles to float out and across the deck.

"See, isn't that great?" Usopp said, grinning.

Chopper watched them cautiously, as if they might explode, but when they began to pop from their thin structure, they only shattered into tiny pieces littering the deck.

Usopp sighed. "Well, if you don't wanna play . . . that's fine. Whatever."

Sanji ran a hand through his hair. "What are we supposed to do in a situation like this?"

"We _could_ try getting the akuma," Robin mused, "but without Ladybug and Chat Noir, it would escape, and I've heard that would be a very bad situation."

Luffy frowned, glancing to the side as he heard a whisper in his ear.

"I know," he murmured under his breath. "But everyone's here. Not now."

"You know what?" Usopp said, standing suddenly. "I'm tired of waiting. They should've been here by now."

He held up his sketchbook and grinned. "Sorry, everyone!"

Zoro backflipped away just in time, but everyone else was caught by steel chains forming around their bodies. Sanji, Nami, Luffy, and Robin fell to the deck, wrapped up so they resembled fish, while Chopper remained upright.

"Usopp?!" he cried, wriggling around.

"Sorry," Usopp repeated with an apologetic smile. He glanced at Robin. "Oh _no_ , you don't!"

Another few swipes of his pencil and a Seastone ring came into existence, hovering around Robin's neck. It clamped around her, not tight enough to strangle, just tight enough to stay on like a choker. Robin gasped.

"You've gone too far!" Sanji snapped, glaring at Usopp with fire in his eyes.

Usopp shrugged. "Hey, I can't let her free. She's too powerful."

"You're being so cruel," Chopper exclaimed, tears forming in his eyes.

"Where the heck did Zoro go?" Luffy asked, looking around.

A sudden CRASH in front of Usopp made everyone jump, and then they saw Zoro, dressed as Chat Noir, standing up.

"Hey," he said. "Sorry I took so long. I got Zoro to safety, since Paper whatever knocked him out."

Usopp frowned. "What? I didn't—never mind. Where's your partner?"

"Chat!" Luffy exclaimed in delight. "You're here!"

"I dunno where Ladybug is," Zoro admitted. "Luffy, why do _you_ have to say 'Chat' wrong, too?"

Nami rolled her eyes. "Chat Noir, can you just get us free already?"

"Yeah, hold on a sec." Zoro turned, extended his staff, and whacked Usopp in the side of the head, stunning him. "Okay, there we go."

He knelt and untied Luffy, who stretched out his limbs and hugged Zoro, kissing him on the nose. Zoro's eyes widened in surprise, his face turning so red he resembled a strawberry.

"Oh, come on!" Sanji exclaimed. "Since when are you two that way with each other?!"

Luffy shrugged. "I dunno. Chat's really cool. Chat, you like me, right?"

"I—well—"

Zoro gave up trying to answer and kissed Luffy's forehead in response instead. Luffy grinned, and Zoro ignored Sanji's confused sputtering as he quietly pumped his fist in celebration and went to untie Robin.

By the time Usopp recovered, shaking his head, everyone was untied and standing.

"Sorry, I can't get that collar off," Zoro said to Robin. "Hey, Nami, Chopper, Blondie—get her somewhere safe, and stay out of the way unless you're gonna help. Luffy—"

Luffy had vanished.

"Damn it, he ran off," Zoro muttered.

"Robin, c'mon," Nami said, grabbing her shoulders and helping her along with Sanji and Chopper.

"Kick his ass, Chat Noir!" Sanji called behind him.

Zoro nodded and turned, only to get a faceful of hammer. He winced, knocking it aside, and glared at Usopp, who grinned cheekily.

"Hold still and this won't hurt," he taunted. "I _will_ be victorious!"

"I don't think so!"

Zoro and Usopp looked around and found Luffy landing on the deck, dressed in his suit. He brought his medallion back.

"Hi, Kitty!" he exclaimed. Zoro grinned and blew him a kiss.

"Wasn't he just kissing Luffy?" Sanji muttered. He, Nami, Robin, and Chopper watched from the tangerine bushes. "What the hell is going on with their love life?"

"Why do you care?" Nami muttered.

"I'm just trying to figure out who's with who, it's very important—speaking of which, Nami- _san_ , Robin- _chan_ , if you want to go on a date sometime—?"

"Anyway, love triangles _do_ exist," Nami said, turning back to watch the fight. "Luffy and Zoro are pretty obvious, or at least Zoro likes Luffy. Chat Noir and Ladybug are together, from the looks of it. And now Chat Noir and Luffy are together. Does that clear it up, Sanji- _kun?"_

"Yeah, I guess," Sanji said, glancing at Robin. "Robin- _chan?_ Can you talk right now, or . . . ?"

Robin shook her head, gesturing to the Seastone.

"That was so mean of him," Chopper whispered, lying on Sanji's back and peering over his head. "It'll be gone once Ladybug and Chat Noir win the fight!"

Down on the deck, Usopp put his pencil to paper again.

"You shouldn't mess with the greatest artist in the world, you two," he declared. "Sketch!"

"It's in his pencil," Luffy said, eyeing the thing. Zoro nodded.

Luffy flung out his medallion, but Usopp jumped aside. He grinned and brought his hand down, and Luffy and Zoro leapt out of the way just in time to avoid the giant rock crashing to the deck.

"Are rocks all you can draw?" Luffy exclaimed incredulously. "C'mon, you're better than that!"

"Now's not the time," Zoro muttered.

Usopp waved his sketchbook about indignantly. "Rocks are one of the quickest things to draw, that's all! You want to see something better?! Take this!"

He began drawing.

"Now!" Zoro exclaimed. He and Luffy leapt forward, and Usopp jumped aside, going back to his drawing.

Something formed and landed upon the deck: A large cat, of ordinary body proportions but nearly the size of Luffy's leg. It meowed loudly.

"You see," Usopp exclaimed proudly, "I can even create life! You may refer to me as a god from now on!"

"You're no god," Luffy said. "Hey, Chat, that cat looks like you."

Zoro picked up the cat and threw it overboard.

"Hey!" Luffy and Usopp exclaimed indignantly.

"It wasn't real!" Zoro snapped. "It was just gonna get in the way!"

"But it was still cute," Luffy protested, pouting. "You're just mean!"

"It was an enemy, Usopp was probably going to make it attack us or something!"

"But it wasn't attacking right _then_ , so—"

"Uh, you guys?" Nami called.

"What?" they said together, looking up.

"Sketch!" Usopp exclaimed, and they looked around, but it was too late: A metal chain wrapped around them, making them stand back-to-back, and with a wave of his hand, Usopp sent the other end of the chain flying up, tying itself around the mast and letting Luffy and Zoro dangle upside-down, tied together.

"Well," Zoro said at last as they swayed, "guess we're all tied-up."

"At least we're tied-up _together,_ " Luffy said with a weak grin. "But, this is a problem, huh . . ."

Usopp approached them with a wicked grin.

"I win."

But as he reached out for Luffy's neck, aiming for the ribbon, he froze, and something passed over his face.

"Wait . . ."

His hand shook in place, and the grin slipped off his face.

"I don't . . . I don't want to . . . do this," he said, taking a step back. "You guys're . . . my friends . . . !"

"Usopp?" Luffy said in surprise.

"What's going on?" Chopper whispered from Sanji's back.

"Dunno," Nami muttered, eyeing Usopp as he held his head.

"Hey," Zoro muttered to Luffy. "Can you get at your medallion? I think now's a good time for the lucky thing."

"Oh, right . . ."

Luffy wriggled his hand around and managed to seize his medallion. He flung it out on the string and muttered, "Lucky Charm!"

As he examined the item in his awkwardly-positioned hand, Usopp clutched his head, staring at them.

"What am I . . . doing?" he said to himself. "You guys . . ."

He winced as his hand moved on its own towards Luffy's Miraculous. "No, what're you—?! Stop—!"

With a great effort, he brought his hand back, falling to his knees.

"Shut up!" he yelled as someone whispered to him urgently. "No! The deal's off, I did what I wanted—leave me alone! Why should I listen to you?!"

A pause, and he froze.

"They what?" he whispered. "But . . . no . . ."

Another hesitant moment, and Usopp stood, eyes fiery.

"Yeah, you're right," he muttered. "You're right. Ladybug! Chat Noir! I _will_ take your— _how did you get free?!"_

Luffy held up the bucket on a rope with a grin. "This came filled with water," he explained cheerfully. "Turns out your sketches wash away pretty easy!"

"Oh, come on!" Usopp exclaimed in exasperation.

"Were you talking with Tigermoth?" Zoro said curiously as Luffy ran to the side of the ship to draw water. "What'd he tell you?"

Usopp gave him a sneer. "Enough to make me realize I should have taken care of you _long_ ago! Now hold still!"

Luffy came back with the water and splashed some upon Robin's neck up in the bushes, and then the rest of the locked door, melting away both.

"Thank you," Robin called once she recovered.

Luffy grinned. "Yup! Sanji, can you go help Franky? He might need cola!"

"Yeah, of course," Sanji exclaimed. "Chopper, take care of the ladies!"

Chopper fell off of Sanji's back and hugged Robin as Sanji ran into the kitchen, returned with a few bottles of soda, and jumped into the door leading downstairs.

"Cataclysm!"

Luffy turned as Zoro destroyed Usopp's sketchbook. Ignoring the scream of anger, he raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I thought that only worked on metal."

Zoro shrugged. "Yeah, who knew? Guess it works on other things." He flexed his hand. "I wonder, if I used it on a person . . . well, never mind."

"Don't be scary!" Nami yelled.

Sanji returned from below deck with Franky nearly back to full health, though slightly battered.

"Franky!" Chopper exclaimed. Zoro tackled Usopp to the ground and sat on his chest, pinning him.

Franky looked around. "Where the hell—? There he is! Hey, Bro Usopp, what the hell was that all about, you jerk?!"

"He's not himself right now," Nami called. "He'll go back to normal in a bit."

"Huh?"

Luffy knelt and yanked the pencil from Usopp's grasp.

"Sorry," he said, snapping it in two. The moth fluttered out and he caught it, releasing it soon. It fluttered away.

He tossed the bucket into the air. Instantly, the damage was restored, and Usopp's outfit melted away, revealing his normal clothes.

"You okay?" Zoro said, standing and offering him a hand.

"Huh?" Usopp said, dazed. "What? Chat Noir?"

"What's going on?" Franky demanded. "Who are you two?"

"Oh, thank god," Nami said, jumping down from the bushes with Robin and Chopper. "Usopp, you moron—"

"What?" Usopp said, confused. He took Zoro's hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

"Will someone explain what's happening?" Franky said, exasperated. "Why'd Bro Usopp attack me?"

"Huh?!" Usopp exclaimed, eyes widening. Chopper ran over to hug his leg. "Wait, Ladybug and Chat Noir are here, so—was I—?!"

"You were akumatized," Robin said bluntly, though she smiled. "It's good to have you back."

Usopp looked horror-struck. "Oh, no, oh no, I'm so sorry—Franky, I—I hurt you—? I didn't mean it—"

Franky folded his arms and waited for an explanation.

"Hey, Franky," Luffy said cheerfully. "Okay, so basically, someone gets akumatized, which is kind of like possessed, when they're upset about something, and then they do something bad and try to attack me and Chat, and it's up to us to get them back to normal."

Franky nodded slowly, and then his eyes widened. "Wait, so—Bro, you were possessed? Because I—"

He began crying. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to call your stuff stupid, it's actually really good!"

"I'm sorry, too!" Usopp wailed, beginning to sob. He and Franky hugged each other tightly. "I didn't wanna hurt you!"

Luffy looked around as those two held each other in tears. "Aw, Chat left."

"Shoot, I wanted to talk to both of you," Sanji muttered.

"Hey," Zoro said, coming out of the kitchen. "Everything's taken care of?"

"There you are," Nami said, rolling her eyes as Usopp and Franky composed themselves.

"Hey, Zoro!" Luffy exclaimed in delight. "You're okay after all!"

Zoro grinned. "Good to see you."

Impulsively, he held out his hand. Luffy took it, and Zoro pulled him forward, spun him around, and kissed his cheek.

"What the hell?!" Sanji yelled.

"Sanji- _kun_ , it's been upgraded to a love square," Nami said. "Just go with it."

"But—" Sanji threw up his hands in agitation. "Ladybug, Chat Noir is so much cooler than that guy, why would you—?!"

Luffy stuck out his tongue. "I'll do what I want."

Robin hid a laugh behind her hand.

"Oh, I'm about to turn back," Luffy added before Usopp or Franky could say anything. "Um, Robin, could you—?"

Robin crossed her arms, and everyone sans Luffy had their eyes covered by hands suddenly sprouted from their shoulders.

"Robin!" Nami exclaimed indignantly. "What gives?!"

"Thanks!" Luffy exclaimed as Zoro and Franky tried to pull away their blindfolds.

By the time Robin freed everyone, Luffy was coming out of the men's quarters.

"Hey, guys!" he said cheerfully. "Usopp, I'm glad you're back to normal!"

Usopp looked down in shame.

"Hey," Zoro said in relief, pulling Luffy into a hug. Luffy hugged him in return before they let go of each other.

"Who were those guys?" Franky said at last.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir," Robin replied. "They show up when someone's akumatized by a man named Tigermoth, like Usopp was, and as Ladybug said . . . it's their job to help the person get back to normal."

"Wait, this has happened before?" Franky exclaimed. "This crew's weirder than I thought."

"More like Ladybug and Chat Noir are weird," Nami snapped. "They showed up all the way back in the East Blue, and they keep appearing and vanishing when we're around, even on the open sea! It's suspicious, I'll tell you what!"

"They're heroes, huh?" Franky exclaimed. "That's so super! I gotta write a song for them!"

"You really don't," Robin said, noticing the expression on Zoro's face.

* * *

"Which one of you shits ate the cheese?" Sanji demanded, holding up the former block, now worn down to a palm-size, nibbled ball.

"What do you mean?" Chopper exclaimed.

"Look at this," Sanji said, gesturing to it. "I bought this just the other day, and it's all gone! I haven't touched it, and Nami- _san_ and Robin- _chan_ would never eat cheese like this, so it had to be one of you!"

"You and the girls are the only one with the passcode to that," Franky pointed out. "Well, I am, too, but do these teeth really look like they could take bites that small? Besides, I don't even like that kind of cheese. It smells like trash."

"That's the scent of culture!"

"Perhaps a mouse snuck into the fridge," Robin said serenely. "Or a very small cat."

Her eyes flickered to Zoro.

Luffy laughed. "Guess it's a mystery! And it wasn't me. That cheese tastes okay, but it stinks."

"Usopp?" Nami said, noticing his silence as he took small bites from his food. "Are you okay?"

"You still thinking about earlier?" Zoro asked, leaning back in his seat. "It wasn't your fault, you know."

Usopp shook his head. "You're wrong. I shouldn't—I shouldn't've been so upset about what Franky said. I overreacted."

"Caught me at a bad time, Bro," Franky said sheepishly.

"I probably deserved it, anyway," Usopp added. "I'm the one who got Nami and Chopper possessed before."

Nami and Chopper glanced at each other.

"Usopp, that wasn't your fault," Chopper said tentatively. "I mean . . . you did make us upset, but . . ."

"It's not like you set out to get them possessed," Zoro finished. "If anything, it's that Tigermoth guy's fault. No one deserves to be turned against their friends or anyone just because they got upset."

Usopp nodded, but his food was finished very slowly.

"I'll be in bed," he mumbled, standing, and he left the room.

The others dispersed shortly after.

* * *

"Usopp," Robin said, placing a hand on his shoulder. She'd caught him just before he entered the men's quarters. "Go to the stern in five minutes. Your friends will meet you there."

Usopp frowned, confused, but Robin only smiled and went off somewhere else.

"Okay," he said, shrugging.

* * *

Robin managed to speak to Luffy and Zoro separately. When Usopp got to the stern, he found them waiting, dressed in their suits.

"Oh," he said. "You two?!"

"Hey," Luffy said, grinning.

"Is there another akumatized person?" Usopp said, looking around nervously. "Is it me? Am I still akumatized and I don't know it?"

"Calm down," Zoro said. "No one's possessed right now. We're here to talk to you."

"Oh."

Usopp hesitated, and then bowed to them.

"I'm sorry," he said, shaking. "I'm sorry I got akumatized, I must've caused a lot of trouble—I'm sorry I'm so useless, I'm sorry I can never do anything—"

Luffy hit him over the head. Usopp came up with a lump, rubbing it indignantly.

"Wasn't your fault you got possessed," he said sternly. "And you're not useless, stupid."

"But—I can never help, I—"

"It's not your job to help," Zoro said. "It's our job to take care of it. Sure, you can help if you want to, but if you fail, it's not a detriment. Not because you're weak, not because you're useless; because it just isn't your duty."

"While you were attacking, we got the others out of the way," Luffy said. "Even though they're really strong, they chose to stay out of it, because it's not their job."

"But that's not to say you can't try helping if you don't want to," Zoro finished.

Usopp's eyes watered. "Oh."

Luffy grinned. "Do you know what happened when you tried to take our ribbons?"

Usopp shook his head.

"You didn't." Luffy hugged him. "You said we were your friends, and you didn't try again until that Tigermoth guy forced your hand."

Usopp's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yup," Zoro said. "Are we done here?"

Usopp nodded, pulling back. He smiled. "Thanks, you two."

"Go to bed," Luffy ordered. "We'll see you another time."

Usopp waved and hurried away, smiling to himself.

"That's that," Zoro said abruptly. "Let's go and—"

"Wait!"

They turned to see Sanji hurrying up the stairs, stopping in front of them. He held a marker and something like a placard.

"Thank god, I've been wanting to get you two alone," he exclaimed. "I heard your voices—"

"Make it quick," Zoro snapped.

"Of course, yeah—I just wanted to ask—"

Sanji bowed and held out the sheet.

"May I have your autographs?"

* * *

 **I'm not sure, but we might update Monday next week. Tuesday at the latest.**


	8. Heartache

**We have! One more chapter after this!**

 **Also! I've got illustrations for Paper-Méchant and Darcœur on my tumblr now, and the ones I mentioned before are still available! Ask me for links if you're interested!**

* * *

 _Thriller Bark_

Luffy cradled his head in his arms, kneeling next to Zoro's bed. Zoro had yet to wake since they'd found him unconscious and covered in blood, his wounds from who-knew-where, and now he looked so peaceful as he slept, even with the bandages—not as quick to need changing as previous ones, but faint red spots still showed in certain places.

The Rolling Pirates and the other Strawhats slept in various positions throughout the building. Even Brook, the newest crewmate, had passed out on the floor near Franky and Usopp.

"Luffy . . ."

Luffy glanced down as Tikki landed on the makeshift bed.

"Hey," he murmured.

"How are you doing?"

"Fit as a fiddle. But Zoro's still . . ."

Tikki nodded. "He's very strong. I'm sure he'll recover soon."

"I know. I just wanna see him up and about again."

In a surprisingly tender gesture, he brushed some stray dirt from Zoro's cheek and leaned forward, touching noses for a moment.

"I miss him."

When Tikki glanced to Luffy again, he had fallen asleep, facedown in his arms. She floated up and over to Zoro's left side.

"Plagg," she whispered.

Plagg appeared in midair and sat next to her. "It's been a while."

"It has." She looked at Zoro. "The strength of his love . . ."

" _What are you doing?!"  
_ " _For my crew . . . for my captain, Luffy . . . take my head instead!"_

". . . it's impressive."

" _You're going to die!"  
_ " _I don't care."_

"You saw what happened, then?" Plagg asked, lying on his back.

"I couldn't wake Luffy, so I followed Zoro and that man."

"In that case, you can't say I didn't try to stop him."

"I wasn't going to."

They fell silent when Zoro gave a sudden jerk, but he did not wake and relaxed again a moment later.

"Their six months are nearly up," Plagg remarked. "I suppose they'll learn each other's identities once it's time to stop being Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Tikki smiled. "I don't think they'll be disappointed."

Luffy fell off the bed, but slept on.

* * *

When Zoro was finally up and walking around again, no one could stop Luffy from jumping on him in a hug. Though he winced, he hugged Luffy in return, and neither let go for quite some time.

* * *

 _Grand Line Sea_

"Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Brook repeated. He, Usopp, Luffy, Sanji, Franky, and Chopper were sitting together on the Sunny's bow.

Usopp nodded, grinning. "They're really cool friends of ours! They're like heroes!"

Luffy leaned against the railing and laughed. "Chat's really the coolest, isn't he?"

"You guys have met?" Usopp said in surprise. Luffy nodded.

"Oh, yeah, you don't remember, do you?" Sanji said. "Last time they showed up, Luffy and Chat Noir were _very_ friendly."

Usopp blinked. "Huh. Then—Luffy, did you meet Ladybug, too?"

"He ran off before Ladybug showed up," Franky explained.

"But who are they, exactly?" Brook asked.

"It's a little weird," Sanji admitted, "but sometimes . . ."

He explained about Tigermoth and akumatization.

"Right, and it's up to Ladybug and Chat Noir to stop them," Usopp interrupted. He grinned. "They're so cool! And they have some really cool powers, too—Chat Noir can destroy things, and Ladybug can create things, so they're like opposites, so they balance each other out perfectly!"

"My, that's interesting," Brook remarked. "Do you think we'll see them again?"

"I kinda wanna, but they usually only show up when someone gets possessed, so it wouldn't be a great situation," Usopp said. "Hold on, I have sketches—"

He ran off and returned with his sketchbook, flipping through the pages.

"Here," he said, shoving it over to Brook and gesturing to the images. "Aren't they cool?!"

Brook delicately held the sketchbook and examined the drawings. Had he any lips, he would have frowned as he glanced up to Luffy, back to the drawings, and then up to Luffy again.

"Er . . . well, these are wonderful sketches," he said at last, passing the book back to Usopp.

"Oh, can I see?" Luffy exclaimed. "I wanna look at the ones of Chat!"

"Why do you _and_ Ladybug have to say it wrong?" Sanji muttered as Usopp passed Luffy the book.

"I'm not saying it wrong," Luffy said absently, smiling at the images of Chat Noir in the book. "He's so _cool_ . . ."

"Isn't he, though?" Sanji said happily.

"You got their autographs, right, Bro?" Franky said, glancing at him.

Sanji froze. "What? How did you—"

"I saw you putting away the paper."

"So you _are_ a big fan," Usopp said with a grin, poking Sanji's cheek.

Sanji slapped his hand away.

* * *

 _Grand Line Island_

Luffy and Zoro wandered away from the ship the moment they dropped the anchor at the dock. Franky let Chopper ride on his shoulder while Usopp walked next to them so they could look for metal parts to use in the workshop. Sanji headed off to shop for food, Nami and Robin went a different way to find clothing stores and bookshops, and Brook stayed behind to guard Sunny.

Sanji surveyed the selection of fish in the small outdoor market, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Excuse me," he said, glancing up to the fishmonger in the shadows of the tent. "Hate to ask, but do you have any more selections?"

"Huh?" the fishmonger muttered, turning around. "That's all we have, kid."

"Really?" Sanji said skeptically. "These aren't very . . ."

He trailed off as the fishmonger came around to the street. In the light, it was clear she was a woman, and her face held a rather disgruntled look.

"Oh!" Sanji exclaimed, smiling. "My dear, forgive me, I hadn't _any_ idea I would be meeting my true love today! It's a good thing I had the foresight to bring this!"

He produced a single rose from his jacket and held it out lovingly to her, drawing stares. "Shall we talk over some coffee? There's a lovely little café nearby, and I would be happy to treat you to some sweets!"

The woman scowled. "You insult my wares and then you ask me out because I'm _pretty?_ What kind of jerk are you?"

A few passerby had stopped to watch by this point, and some snickered at this.

"I—you're right, forgive me," Sanji exclaimed hastily. "Of course a beautiful woman like yourself would only have the _finest_ of selections—"

"You were singing a different tune a minute ago," she snapped. "I'm at my job, in case you hadn't noticed. You're wasting my time."

Sanji's smile faded. He weakly offered her the rose again with, "Will you at least take—?"

She slapped his hand away. "I'm not taking anything from _you_. True love? Someone like you will _never_ find love. Now scat."

Muffled snickers from passerby reached Sanji's ears as they began to move on. The woman stalked behind the table again, and Sanji, his smile gone, left the market area.

"'Never find love,'" he muttered to himself. "Maybe she's right . . ."

A hopeful smile came onto his face again when he spotted a head of orange hair in the window of a shop.

"But Nami- _san_ and Robin- _chan_ are always there for me, aren't they?"

He burst into the shop and hurried to where Nami and Robin were examining the clothing racks.

"Nami- _san_ , Robin- _chan_ , it's good to see you," he exclaimed. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yeah, you can shut up for a moment," Nami said absently, not looking at him. "Robin, what do you think of this cami?"

Sanji's smile began to slip again as Robin checked the shirt. "I think that yellow clashes with the green."

Nami held it up to the light. "Good eye." She put it back and Robin began helping her look for another one.

Almost desperately, Sanji offered Nami the rose. "Would you take this token of my—?"

"Nope. Can you leave? We're busy."

Sanji's arm fell, his once-hopeful face rather like a kicked puppy, and he turned and trudged out of the store.

Robin glanced up as he left. "Do you think that was a bit short of you?"

"Not really," Nami said. "He's used to it, I'm sure."

Robin shrugged. "I ignored him, too, but . . . he seemed a bit down."

Nami paused in her search at last.

"We can ask him to make us drinks when we're back at the ship," she suggested. "That seems to cheer him up, doesn't it?"

Robin smiled. "Good plan. He'll be back in high spirits in no time."

* * *

Sanji wandered about the town, the rose loosely held between his fingers, until he found a small seat outside a shop in an empty street. He sat down heavily, staring into space.

"'Never find love . . .'"

He twirled the rose between his fingers, watching the movement distractedly.

"It's not like I've had much luck so far, anyway."

A sad sigh. Something caught his eye, and he spotted a little dark moth fluttering towards him.

He frowned, and then his eyes widened. "That's—oh no, oh _no_ , not this—!"

But it was too late. The moth alighted upon the rose between his fingers, dying it an evil violet, and he froze, staring ahead blankly as a voice whispered in his head . . .

" _You poor man. That girl was right; you will never find love. That's so unfair, isn't it? After all, if_ you _will never be loved by another, neither should anyone else. My name is Tigermoth, Darcœur, and if you will take the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir, I will give you the power to rightfully take the love from this world. Do we have a deal?"_

Sanji was no longer in his right mind as he smiled and nodded.

* * *

"What an awful store that was," Nami muttered, leaving the place with Robin.

"Should we look for another?"

"We did agree to check out the bookstore next. After that."

But they had taken hardly another step into the street when yells reached their ears from around the town.

"What was that?!" Nami exclaimed, looking around.

Robin glanced up and narrowed her eyes. "There."

A figure hovered in the air, just above the buildings. The wings on their back, dark and feathery and nearly twice the size of an arm, flapped every few seconds, keeping the person afloat. As the girls watched, the figure held a bow and drew back an arrow, firing into a nearby street and causing another scream and yell.

"What the hell is _that?"_ Nami exclaimed.

Robin crossed her arms and shut her eyes. An eye appeared on a roof close to the figure, and when she opened her own eyes again, she turned to Nami.

"Sanji."

"What?"

"That's Sanji."

Nami looked up at the figure again. "What? But—oh, don't tell me he was akumatized!"

"Seems so, unless he decided to dye his hair in the past five minutes. Let's get to Sunny—I'll get the others to join us."

Nami nodded and turned, Robin close behind.

* * *

Luffy and Zoro glanced around and then up. They squinted at the figure in the air.

"That's . . . an akuma," Luffy said at last, eyes darting to the side at the whisper in his ear. "Zoro, let's go!"

"Yeah," Zoro agreed. They turned and ran off, at first together, but soon Luffy looked around and found Zoro was missing.

"Well, at least I can transform by myself now," he remarked as Tikki flew out. "Tikki, transform me!"

* * *

"This isn't the ship."

Plagg floated out and stared at the wall at the end of the alley. "No. It's not."

Zoro sighed. "Whatever. Plagg, transform me."

* * *

"Robin- _san_ , Nami- _san_ ," Brook exclaimed as they boarded Sunny. "What's happening?"

"Sanji's been akumatized," Robin said. "I let the others know to meet up here."

"Sanji- _san?"_ Brook said in surprise, looking back at the figure in the air over the town. "Oh, dear . . . is it always like this?"

"No," Nami said, folding her arms and throwing a glance to the town. "Depends on the person. I wonder why he was possessed, though . . ."

A yell reached their ears, quickly becoming closer, and they turned just in time to see Luffy and Zoro (suited up) sail by the end of Luffy's medallion into the main mast.

Luffy brought back his medallion. "Whoops, I misjudged the distance. Oh, good, you guys are already here!" He glanced down. "Kitty? Are you okay?"

Zoro picked himself up, dusting off his rear. "Don't ever do that again."

"No promises."

Brook watched them thoughtfully. "You two . . ."

"Chat Noir and Ladybug," Zoro said with a nod. "I think the others told you?"

Brook nodded.

"Is there anything we need to know?" Nami asked, glancing between Luffy and Zoro. "Anything we can do?"

"I think it's best to stay inside for this one," Zoro said, throwing a glance back. "The akuma might not think to look here."

Robin cleared her throat. "That's Sanji, by the way."

Luffy groaned. "Really? That sucks. Either way, Chat's right, you guys should stay inside once the others get here."

"We'll take care of this soon," Zoro promised. "Ladybug, do your thing. Just not into a building."

"No promises."

Luffy flung out his medallion, seized Zoro, and they flew off into the town.

"As I thought, then," Brook remarked, watching them go. "Those two are L—"

"Likable, yes," Robin finished as a hand sprouted from Brook's shoulder to clamp his jaw shut. "I checked in town just before we got here. Luffy and Zoro are sheltering elsewhere. I think they couldn't find the ship."

She gave Brook a meaningful look, and when he nodded in understanding, she released his mouth.

"They're never around when this stuff happens," Nami muttered.

"Hey!" Franky yelled, leaping onto the deck with Usopp and Chopper. He set them down and folded his arms. "Nico Robin, what's the situation?"

"Sanji's been akumatized," Robin said. Ignoring the exclamations of shock, she continued, "Ladybug and Chat Noir advised us to stay indoors."

"Oh, well," Usopp said, relieved, "if they're here already, then we'll be fine."

"He's okay, isn't he?" Franky muttered.

"He will be," Nami said.

"Isn't this a pleasant party?"

Everyone whipped around or looked up to see Sanji, hovering out of reach with a wicked smile. His hair, though combed regularly, was dyed black, along with the edges of his eyes and his lips. The suit he wore was separated into jagged sections of black and red, and in the center was a heart split down the middle. In one hand he held a violet bow, and a quiver of arrows was strapped to his back, not touching the dark, feathery wings which flapped to keep him afloat.

"It would be a shame if someone broke it up," Sanji added, flipping the bow in his hand.

"Sanji- _san?"_ Brook said cautiously.

" _I_ am Darcœur," Sanji snapped. "Don't call me by _that_ name. Now, tell me where Ladybug and Chat Noir went."

"And if we don't?" Nami said skeptically.

Sanji narrowed his eyes.

The next few seconds passed in a blur: Sanji pulled an arrow from his quiver and set it in the bow, drawing the string and aiming directly for Nami's heart, but as he fired, Robin knocked her aside, taking the hit to her shoulder.

"Robin!" Chopper cried, looking between her and Sanji in fear.

"Everyone, inside, now!" Franky yelled. "I'll lock the door!"

They frantically piled into the kitchen, Nami and Usopp helping Robin, and slammed the door shut. Franky constructed a makeshift lock, and hurried to the other door to do the same.

"He's gone," Brook reported, peeking out the window. "We're safe here. But, Robin- _chan_ —?"

"Robin, let me look," Chopper exclaimed. "Does it hurt? Wait, there's no wound!"

"Where'd the arrow go?" Usopp asked, looking around.

"Robin, are you okay?" Nami whispered, touching her shoulder.

Her hand was slapped away.

"Don't you touch me," Robin snarled, standing. Her lips were dyed black like Sanji's.

"You need some space?" Franky asked, coming back from the other door.

"I need to get away from you _awful_ people," Robin said with a sneer. "I can't stand to be in the same room as you."

"Robin?" Chopper exclaimed. "What's wrong? We're friends!"

Robin swiftly kicked him aside. He hit the wall and began crying.

"We were never friends," she said coldly as Usopp ran over to check on him. He held Chopper comfortingly as the others became defensive, eyeing Robin cautiously.

"The arrow must've done something," Nami said slowly. "This isn't really Robin."

"You hear that?" Usopp murmured to Chopper. "That's not her. She's under a spell or something."

"Oh," Chopper whispered. "Okay. Got it."

"If it's a spell, there's gotta be a way to fix it," Franky said hopefully. "I mean, I dunno about you guys, but I don't wanna put up with this version of her for long."

"Then how do we break it?" Brook mused.

The others were silent.

* * *

"Where'd he _go?"_ Luffy muttered as he and Zoro ran down the street, Zoro rubbing his reddened nose.

"He's probably above us somewhere," Zoro pointed out. "He's using aerial attacks."

"Not to mention he can hit from a distance, which is . . . a problem." Luffy looked to the side thoughtfully. "Since when can Sanji use a bow and arrow, anyway?"

"Focus. Keep an eye out."

"Right."

* * *

Sanji flew away from the Sunny without a glance back, searching the streets and relishing in the havoc he'd caused—many townsfolk, once friendly, screamed at each other and threw things, while others fled indoors at the sight of Sanji.

At last, he spotted two familiar figures below, one red and one black.

With a grin, he drew back an arrow and fired.

* * *

" _Ladybug!"_

Luffy looked up just in time to see Sanji fire the arrow. It whizzed towards him at blinding speed, his feet were rooted to the ground—

He was roughly shoved aside.

Blinking, he looked up from where he now lay on the ground to see Zoro standing where he'd been only a moment before. The black arrow had stuck itself into Zoro's chest, and it dissolved a moment later.

"Chat!" he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet. He looked up in the sky, but Sanji had vanished. He hurried to Zoro's side and checked his chest. "No blood—are you okay?"

Silence.

"Chat? Are you okay?"

Zoro looked up at last, his lips dyed black.

"I can't stand you."

Luffy froze. "Wha—?"

"That stupid expression," Zoro said, straightening up with a sneer. "You don't think we're friends, do you?"

"What?" Luffy said dumbly.

"Oh, do I have to spell it out for you?" Zoro hissed in exasperation. "I. _Hate._ You. Is that clear enough to get through your thick skull?"

Luffy let out a nervous laugh. "Chat . . . hey, cut it out! That's not funny . . ."

"I'm dead serious." Zoro curled his lip. "You know what _is_ funny? You entertaining some notion I actually _like_ you. I wish you'd just disappear from this world!"

Luffy reached out and seized Zoro's shoulders. "Chat, stop it! I told you, this isn't—"

The slap rang throughout the street.

Luffy pulled his hands back, one side of his face reddened, his eyes wide and hurt.

"Just looking at you makes me ill," Zoro said, turning away. "I'm out of here."

He leapt away, springing off the sides of buildings and onto the rooftops, vanishing from sight.

Luffy gulped, eyes watering, but he shook his head.

"I'm not gonna cry," he muttered. "I won't cry."

He blinked back tears.

"But what do I do now?"

* * *

"Hello, Chat Noir!"

Zoro turned to see Sanji landing on the roof near him.

"So good to see you," he said with a smirk. "Tell me, what do you think of Ladybug?"

"I hate him with all my heart," Zoro snapped. "Why do you ask?"

"Then work with me, Chat Noir. Find Ladybug, take his Miraculous, and bring it to me. I'll make it worth your while."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Just because I hate _him_ doesn't mean I like _you_. _You're_ not much better than a sewer rat."

"Excuse me?!"

"But I think I will do what you said. Not because you told me to, just because I want to."

Sanji grinned. "Good, good. You'll bring me the Miraculous afterwards?"

Zoro shrugged. "If I feel like it, I will."

* * *

Luffy leaned against a building, collecting his thoughts.

"Chat promised . . . he would never hate me," he said to himself.

He flung his medallion up and got himself to a rooftop.

"So that wasn't really him saying that, was it?"

He put a hand to his chin.

"It must've been Sanji's ability," he said at last. "Okay. Then if I can just find Sanji and save him, Chat's gonna be okay."

He sprang forward, searching the area, and froze when he found himself facing Zoro again. From where they were, Sanji was nowhere to be seen.

"Chat," he said. "Kitty . . ."

"You know something?" Zoro said, flexing his hand. "I'd rather die than be on the same island as you. But as things are, I'll take the next best option: I'll just kill you myself."

Luffy backed up a step. "No, this—Chat, this isn't you. I know it isn't."

Zoro sneered. "I don't know what you're talking about. I hate you with every fiber of my being, Ladybug. You just leave a bad taste in my mouth."

Luffy clenched his hands by his sides. "Chat . . ."

"Just die already."

Zoro sprang forward.

* * *

"Robin?"

Robin turned to Nami, who flinched from the glare, but put on a brave smile.

"We're gonna . . . go to the pantry," she said, gesturing to the door. "So, uh, we don't have to be in the same room. Okay? We'll see you later."

"I hope not," Robin sneered as the others followed Nami's lead and hurried into the pantry, shutting the door behind them.

Brook turned on the light and everyone sat. It was a bit cramped.

"Okay," Nami said, her smile fading. "She's under a spell, and I guess Ladybug and Chat Noir haven't stopped Sanji- _kun_ yet. Any ideas?"

"I wonder what happened to make him like that," Franky said thoughtfully. "If his ability is to make someone hate their friends . . ."

The others shrugged.

"So how're we gonna help Robin?" Chopper asked, leaning against Usopp.

Usopp looked pensively to the side. "You know . . . in fairy tales, the evil spell's broken by a kiss of true love, right?"

"You want someone to kiss her?" Franky muttered. "While she's like _that?"_

"I'll do it," Brook offered. "Ah, but I have no lips . . ."

"No, not necessarily a _kiss,_ " Usopp said. "What about something that demonstrates love? It doesn't have to be a kiss."

"Do you think a hug would work?" Chopper asked hopefully.

"Maybe," Usopp said, nodding. "We should all go in at the same time . . ."

"If she was actually angry at us, I'd say don't touch her, but considering the circumstances . . ." Nami sighed. "It's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"I just hope she doesn't break our necks in the process," Franky muttered.

"Don't say that!" Brook exclaimed.

"On three," Nami said, standing. The others joined her and faced the door. "Three . . . two . . . _now!"_

Everyone charged out of the pantry and Robin looked up from the couch in shock.

"I told you to get out of my sight," she hissed, standing. "Do you want to die?"

Usopp was the first one there, nearly knocking Robin backwards as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Robin," he exclaimed. "We love you!"

"Stop squeezing me!" she yelled, trying to pry him off. "What are you doing?! Get off!"

"Never! These arms are hugging machines!"

"We love you, Robin," Nami exclaimed, joining in from the side. Robin headbutted her, and Nami winced but didn't release her.

"You're a great gal, you know?" Franky said, bringing his arms around the group and dragging Brook in with him.

"You're very important to us," Brook said, and he would have smiled if he had lips.

"Robin, we love you!" Chopper cried, joining in next to Usopp.

Robin struggled to get out, spitting curses, but no one would free her. And soon, her struggles grew weak.

"Robin?" Nami murmured. "Come back to us . . ."

At last, the darkness faded from Robin's lips, and the light returned to her eyes.

"Guys?" she said in surprise. "What happened?"

"Robin?" Usopp said, pulling away. "You're back?"

"Back?" she repeated, bemused. "Did I faint?" She glanced at her shoulder. "There's no wound . . ."

"It worked!" Franky exclaimed, scooping Robin and the others up in his huge arms. "Nice to have you back, Nico Robin!"

"But what happened?" she repeated, frowning. She glanced to Chopper, who had started crying again. "Chopper, you have a bump on your head . . ."

"That's nothing," Chopper exclaimed, hugging her again as Franky set everyone down. Brook chuckled.

Robin folded her arms thoughtfully. "Was I causing trouble?"

"Not at all," Brook said cordially.

"So I did." Robin sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Usopp said firmly. "I mean, that wasn't actually you. It doesn't matter."

Robin smiled at last. "If you say so."

Nami glared at the window. "When Sanji- _kun_ gets back here, I'm going to punch him."

"Oh, no!" Chopper exclaimed. "Nami needs hugs, too!"

"Hug out the hate!" Usopp yelled, tackling her.

"Get off me!"

* * *

No matter how many times Zoro swung at Luffy, Luffy couldn't bring himself to strike Zoro, and dodged each blow, trying to think.

"He's . . . full of hate," he murmured, flipping backwards to avoid a swipe. "What did Usopp say earlier? Something like . . . opposites balance out."

He nodded to himself. "Okay. I hope this works."

He stopped moving, faced Zoro, and spread out his arms.

"Surrendering?" Zoro sneered. "Didn't think you were such a coward. All the better for me, I suppose."

He rushed forward, seizing Luffy's shoulder with one hand and raising the other.

"I'll see you in hell."

Luffy smiled. "I love you."

Just as Zoro swung his Cataclysm down, Luffy threw his arms around him, pulling him forward and kissing him on the lips.

* * *

Zoro blinked, coming to consciousness, and found himself close to Luffy. His left hand was on Luffy's chest, and his right on Luffy's shoulder.

"Ladybug?" he murmured.

Luffy's forehead rested on his shoulder, and he now looked up with a smile. "Kitty?"

"When did we get up here?" Zoro asked, eyes darting around. Luffy took the hand from his chest and Zoro automatically wrapped it around his back as Luffy pressed themselves together. "Did that arrow knock me out?"

Luffy put his head on Zoro's shoulder again. "Something like that. You're okay?"

"I—yeah." Zoro frowned. "Are you?"

"I'm fine. Can you do something for me?"

Luffy took his medallion, threw it upwards, and caught the object which appeared.

"Can you go take care of Sanji with this? I'll wait here."

"Of course," Zoro said, taking the item. "Sorry about getting hit. I guess you're tired from fighting."

Luffy said nothing. They parted, and Zoro turned, leaping across rooftops and searching for Sanji.

Luffy smiled as he watched him go. He looked down at his chest. His suit in that area was torn to shreds, and the skin underneath fared no better, the blood beginning to drip.

He violently coughed into his hand and examined the small puddle of blood in his palm.

"Oh, that's not good," he whispered.

* * *

"Chat Noir," Sanji said, turning around with a grin. He landed on the roof. "So good to see you again."

"Yeah, hold that thought," Zoro said. He glanced at the object in his hand.

"Spray paint?" he muttered. "Okay. Uh . . ."

He glanced up at Sanji. "Hold still for a second."

Before Sanji could move, Zoro had rushed up to him and aimed the can at his eyes, spraying quickly.

"OW!" Sanji yelled, rubbing his eyes. "What the hell was that, you bastard?!"

Zoro shrugged. "I improvised. See you later."

He snapped up the bow from Sanji's hand and left, going back to Luffy.

* * *

"Hey!" Zoro called when he found Luffy at last. He smiled, holding up the bow. "I got it! Purify this thing and—"

His voice died, eyes widening when he saw Luffy on his knees.

"Ladybug?" he exclaimed, hurrying forward and kneeling. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Luffy whispered, but he coughed again, and Zoro finally saw the blood dripping on the rooftop. "The akuma . . ."

"What happened?" Zoro demanded.

"Chat . . . the akuma. It'll be fixed after . . ."

With a shaking hand, Luffy took out his medallion, and Zoro snapped the bow in two, letting the moth flutter out. Luffy caught it with a weak motion and released it a moment later, gently taking the can from Zoro's hand and throwing it into the air.

The damage was undone. In the streets, those who had been hit returned to their usual selves and set out to find their friends and family; several rooftops away, Sanji's outfit melted away, leaving him on his knees; the bow returned to being a rose; and Luffy's injuries vanished.

Luffy sat up, checking himself over.

"I'm fine now," he announced, smiling. He stood. "Chat, we should—"

"Ladybug," Zoro interrupted, "what happened?"

Luffy hesitated. "It's not important," he said, voice shaking.

Zoro took his shoulder. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Luffy insisted, his eyes beginning to water.

"Ladybug—"

Luffy's face screwed up and he began to cry. Startled, Zoro pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back comfortingly.

"It's okay," he whispered. "It's okay. Everything's fine."

Luffy squeezed him and then pulled back, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah," he murmured. "Everything's okay now."

Zoro spotted the rose, knelt, and picked it up, offering it to Luffy with a smile. Luffy gently took it, twirling it between his fingers.

"I'm gonna turn back soon," he said at last. "Bye, Kitty."

Zoro nodded, and they turned away from each other, running in opposite directions.

* * *

Sanji straightened up, looking around in confusion.

"What happened?" he muttered. His eyes widened. "Oh, no—oh, god, I hope everyone's okay—"

He jumped down from the roof and ran through the streets, heading for the docks. He finally reached the Sunny, looked around, and tried the kitchen door, only to find it locked.

"Damn it," he swore. "Where are they?"

"Who's there?" came a nervous voice.

"Usopp," Sanji said in relief. "It's me, let me in—"

"What's the password?"

Sanji scowled. "There is no password! Let me in!"

With a click, the door was opened, and Sanji found the crew minus Luffy and Zoro waiting inside.

"Sanji- _san?"_ Brook said cautiously.

"You guys are okay?" Sanji said with a relieved smile. "I hope I didn't hurt anyone—"

Nami strode forward, punched Sanji in the chest, and then hugged him.

"You're so stupid," she muttered, pulling away. "I'm glad you're back."

"I'm so sorry," Sanji said immediately. "I'm sorry, I should've killed that stupid moth when I had the chance—"

"Bro, it's fine," Franky insisted. He glanced at Robin. "Right?"

"Right," Robin agreed.

Chopper hugged Sanji's leg as he shut the door.

"What happened to get you possessed, anyway?" Usopp said at last.

Sanji shook his head. "Something stupid. It doesn't matter now, anyway . . ."

He glanced around at everyone.

"I should've realized it wasn't true, after all."

* * *

"If you want . . . I can tell you what happened."

Zoro, in his normal form, glanced at Plagg resting in his _haramaki_ as he wandered away from the alley.

"No," he said. "If Ladybug didn't want to say . . . I won't ask again."

"Suit yourself. I want cheese when we're back at the ship."

"Sure."

* * *

"Are you okay?" Tikki asked softly. Luffy held her in one hand as they walked.

"Yeah," Luffy said with a smile. He set Tikki gently on his hat and paused to put the rose into one of his buttonholes, looping the stem around the outside so the beautiful flower rested like a corsage.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Tikki murmured. "Leaving it out in the open, I mean . . ."

"Huh? Why?"

Tikki hesitated. "Never mind. You don't listen to me anyway."

"I'll get you crackers back at Sunny," Luffy promised, placing her underneath his hat so she could rest.

He rounded the corner and nearly bumped straight into Zoro.

"Oh, Zoro!" he exclaimed in delight. "You're okay!"

"Yeah," Zoro said. His eyes travelled to the rose in Luffy's shirt, and his eyes widened, eyebrows lifting.

When he looked up again, Luffy was holding out his elbow.

"Wanna go back to Sunny?"

Zoro gave him a broad smile and linked his arm with Luffy's.

"Let's go."


	9. Good Night

_Grand Line Sea_

"Luffy . . ."

Luffy woke from his nap in the sun with a start. He blinked and crossed his eyes to see Tikki sitting on his nose.

"Something up?" he mumbled, yawning.

"Six months have passed."

Luffy stared at her, slowly processing the sentence. His eyes widened and he sat up, sending Tikki flying; he reached out and caught her before she hit the deck.

"So I don't have to be Ladybug anymore?" he exclaimed.

"That's right. Not unless you want to."

Luffy grinned. "No way! It was fun, but being a hero isn't for me." He paused. "This means you're gonna leave, huh?"

She nodded. "When you decide to get rid of the Miraculous, I'll be gone. My partner and I will go back to our Master, and we'll figure out another way to beat Tigermoth and save our friend."

"Got it. I'm definitely gonna tell everyone tonight, so stick around until then, okay?"

"Understood."

* * *

"Six months already, huh?" Zoro muttered, closing his eyes again.

Plagg nodded. "Ladybug had the same deal with my partner, so he'll give up his identity as well."

Zoro smiled. "Right."

"You know who he is, don't you?"

"Yep. It shouldn't have taken me so long to figure it out . . . but I'm glad."

* * *

"Guys, I have an announcement," Luffy said at dinner, partway through his second serving. The others glanced up expectantly, a knowing look in Zoro's eyes.

"I've got something to tell you," he continued, grinning, "so we're gonna meet out on the deck after dinner."

"Is it bad?" Usopp said suspiciously.

"Nope! Also, Sanji, when we meet, can you bring crackers out?"

"Sure," Sanji said. "Don't tell me you'll still be hungry?"

"They're not for me."

"Bring cheese while you're at it," Zoro added. "The smelly stuff."

Sanji folded his arms. "What's this about?"

"Zoro, you like the trash cheese?" Luffy said in surprise.

"No, but—never mind. You'll see."

* * *

"This better be good," Nami said, folding her arms. The crew was together on the deck, the sun barely beginning to set. Sanji had set aside the crackers and cheese.

"It will be," Luffy promised, still grinning. "Guys . . . I'm sorry. I've been lying to you all this time."

The others glanced around in confusion, though Zoro just waited. Robin smiled in understanding, and Brook appeared thoughtful.

"You?" Franky said at last. "Lying?"

"You couldn't lie to save your life," Sanji said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, that's rude," Luffy muttered.

"That's generally not considered rude," Usopp muttered.

"Anyway . . . I _am_ sorry, but I promised I'd keep it secret until now. So . . . Tikki!"

Tikki flew out from under his hat, startling the others.

Luffy grinned. "Transform me!"

Tikki flew into the ribbon, and Luffy spread out his arms, his clothes and hat melting away as his suit, mask, and medallion came into place.

Finally, Luffy, dressed as Ladybug, stood in front of everyone with a grin.

"Surprise!" he exclaimed.

" _You're_ Ladybug?!" Usopp exclaimed.

"What—that's so _cool!"_ Chopper cried, his eyes shining.

"Luffy, what the hell?!" Nami yelled.

"You look really good in that," Franky remarked.

"Ah," Brook said. "So . . . none of you realized after all?"

"Did you know?!" Nami yelled, turning on him. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

Brook held up his hands. "Well, you see, Robin- _san_ was—"

"Did _you_ know?!" Nami exclaimed, turning to Robin. "How could you?!"

Robin smiled. "Luffy did promise to keep it secret. I just helped."

"Betrayer," Nami whispered.

Sanji pointed to Luffy in shock. "It was _you_ all along?"

Luffy laughed. "You betcha!"

Sanji hung his head. "I can't believe this."

Luffy glanced over to Zoro at last. "Zoro? Are you okay?"

Zoro grinned. "Sorry, Luffy. I figured it out last time."

"Oh, you did?" Luffy said. "How?"

"Next you're gonna say Zoro was Chat Noir," Nami groaned.

"No way," Sanji exclaimed. "No way that moron could be someone as cool as Chat Noir!"

Zoro removed his bandana, revealing the ribbon. "Plagg," he said, and Plagg flew out of the _haramaki_. "Transform me!"

"NO WAY!" Usopp screamed as Zoro's clothes and swords vanished, replaced by his suit.

"This is the worst day of my life," Sanji whispered.

"You were Chat Noir the whole time!" Chopper exclaimed, eyes sparkling in delight.

"Not that I wanted to be," Zoro admitted. He glanced at Sanji. "Cook, you okay?"

"Robin, you knew about him, too?" Nami whispered. Robin nodded and Nami hung her head.

"I am _not_ okay!" Sanji exclaimed, glaring at Zoro and Luffy. "I changed my mind! You two aren't cool at all!"

Zoro took out his staff, spun it around, and held it in front of him in a fighting stance.

"So cool," Sanji whispered. He shook his head. "No! You tricked me!"

"Still want those autographs?" Zoro added.

"KITTY!"

Zoro turned just in time for Luffy to tackle him to the deck.

"It's you!" he exclaimed, hugging him while lying on top and covering his face in kisses. "Zoro, it's you! I'm so glad it's you!"

"It's me," Zoro said, grinning as he hugged Luffy back.

"You mean you two didn't know it was each other?!" Usopp exclaimed.

Nami strode to them, knelt, and hit them over their heads.

"You have a _lot_ of explaining to do!" she hissed.

* * *

". . . So, that's about the situation," Zoro finished. Everyone had ended up sitting together. "Sorry again for keeping it secret."

"I can't believe we didn't realize it," Nami groaned. "I never thought you two of all people would be heroes!"

"We're not, though," Luffy insisted, sitting in Zoro's lap and leaning against him.

"It's still so cool," Chopper exclaimed.

"I feel like I should say . . ." Usopp bowed his head to them. "Thank you guys for saving us all those times."

"Don't mention it," they said together.

"So . . . why tell us _now?"_ Sanji said, still in a slump from discovering his heroes' identities.

"Because we're not gonna be Ladybug and Chat Noir anymore," Zoro said. "The deal was we'd do this for six months and no longer."

"Aw, no more Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Chopper exclaimed in disappointment.

"We're still gonna be here," Luffy pointed out. "Just not dressed up."

Chopper brightened. "That's true!"

"On that note . . . Tikki, come out, detransform me, whatever."

Tikki flew out and Luffy's suit melted away.

"I'm done explaining stuff," he said as Zoro asked the same of Plagg. "Robin, Tikki, cat-salami, can you guys take over?"

"My name is Plagg," Plagg said in annoyance, startling the others.

"Certainly," Robin said. "Tikki, Plagg, there's food over there if you're tired."

They thanked her and Sanji and flew over to get the cheese and crackers.

"Wait, so _that's_ why you idiots kept stealing from the pantry!" Sanji yelled, pointing to Luffy and Zoro.

"Yeah, it gives them energy," Zoro said. "They gotta eat. Got a problem with that?"

"If you had just _asked_ —!"

"Anyway," Robin interrupted. She began explaining about the Kwami with the help of Tikki and Plagg as Luffy closed his eyes, leaning into Zoro.

"How'd you figure it out last time?" he whispered.

"The rose," Zoro murmured, playing with his hair.

"Oh. I guess that's why Tikki said not to leave it out." Luffy grinned, eyes still shut. "But that's okay."

"Yeah."

* * *

"Are you paying attention?"

Luffy blinked and focused on Tikki. "Huh? Sure."

"I was saying that Plagg and I should leave."

"Oh."

"Did you zone out during that whole explanation?" Franky exclaimed.

"I guess." Luffy rolled off of Zoro's lap, sat up, and stretched. "Hey, Tikki . . . didn't you say the first time we met that the whole reason you needed us was to help your friend?"

"That's right," Tikki said.

"If you were listening to her just now, you would've known that," Nami muttered.

"Well . . . if you know where this Tigermoth guy is, maybe we could help you after all, just not as Ladybug and Chat," Luffy offered. "'Cause I like you guys, and I'm still mad at him for messing with our friends."

Tikki and Plagg shook their heads.

"We're getting closer to knowing who and where he is," Plagg explained, "but we're still not sure, and you have your own journey."

"Besides, Tigermoth is sure to use more akumas along the way, so if Ladybug and Chat Noir weren't close by, that would be a bad situation," Tikki added.

"That makes sense," Zoro said with a nod.

"Alright, then," Luffy said, reaching around his neck for the ribbon. "I guess this is goodbye!"

Tikki flew forward and hugged his nose.

"Good luck on your travels, you stubborn idiot."

Luffy grinned. "Same to you!"

Plagg hit Zoro's forehead. "Nice knowing you."

"Yeah, whatever," Zoro muttered.

"You're all such good friends," Brook remarked.

Luffy and Zoro untied their ribbons at last and held them out. They vanished along with Tikki and Plagg.

"If we do ever find that Tigermoth guy, though," Luffy said as Zoro tied his bandana back on, "I'm gonna beat him up."

"We'll help," Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Sanji said together.

"I kinda wish I'd gotten to see you guys as heroes more often," Franky commented. "You did look pretty cool."

"We're cool no matter what," Zoro pointed out.

"You are _not_ ," Sanji hissed.

Zoro grinned. "So, say I went out and got a black suit and cat ears—"

"I'll kick your ass!"

"What if I went and got a look-alike Ladybug suit?" Luffy asked innocently, grinning.

"I'll kick _your_ ass!"

"Maybe Nami and I could make replicas for you two," Robin offered with a wink. "It's not like you would have those abilities, but . . ."

Sanji sank to his knees and fell facedown in the grass.

* * *

"Hey—"

Luffy and Zoro turned around as Luffy got ready for bed and Zoro got ready for night watch. Usopp hesitated, glancing between them.

"So, uh—if you feel up to it, would you be willing to pose for sketches after all?" he blurted out.

They glanced at each other.

"Sure, I guess," Zoro said, shrugging.

"I don't like sitting still," Luffy protested.

"It would only be a minute."

"Deal!"

* * *

Zoro glanced up at a noise and found Luffy climbing through the crow's nest door, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

He grinned sleepily. "Hey, Kitty," he murmured, shuffling over to Zoro and sitting beside him.

"Hey," Zoro replied, pulling him into his lap. "Something up?"

"Just wanted to be with you." Luffy yawned.

"I see."

"Hey, Zoro . . . it was you the whole time."

"Yeah. And it was you."

Luffy grinned. "We should've known sooner."

Zoro nodded. "Looking back, it was obvious . . . but it's not like many of the others realized."

Luffy giggled. "That's true. Zoro . . ."

"Hm?"

Luffy reached up and hit Zoro over the head.

"What'd I do?" Zoro muttered indignantly, rubbing his head.

"I told you back at Little Garden not to be so reckless," Luffy scolded. "And then you took that arrow."

"That wasn't reckless," Zoro protested. "I took it on purpose. By that time, it was the only way to get you out of the way. You were the only one who could purify the akuma, so . . . I couldn't let you get hurt." He sighed. "Fat lot of good that did, in the end."

"That's all over and done with," Luffy mumbled, yawning. "Don't worry about that. I just don't want you to die."

"People die."

"I know."

Zoro sighed. "Are you staying up here?"

"Duh. Do you wanna share the blanket?" Luffy leaned into him.

"I'm not cold. I generate my own body heat through sheer will."

"You've got goosebumps on your arms."

"Those are heat goosebumps."

"You're dumb." Luffy stretched out his arms and managed to bring the blanket around Zoro's back, pulling the edges to the front so it wrapped around both of them. He yawned, his head beginning to bob.

"Get some sleep," Zoro murmured.

"Mm," Luffy mumbled. "G'night . . . Zoro . . ."

Zoro pressed a kiss to the top of his head as he fell asleep. "G'night . . . Luffy."

* * *

~Fin~

* * *

 **Story's done! Thanks for all your support, everyone!**


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